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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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BR  775  .P8 

Pressens  e,  Edmond  de,  1824- 

1891. 
The  Redeemer:  a  sketch  of 

the  history  of  redemption 


THE    REBEEIEE. 


0-vAW 


THE    EEDEEIEE: 


A    SKETCH    OF 


THE    HISTOEY    OF    EEDEMPTION. 


BY 

EDMOND     DE'i^RESSENSÉ 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  SECOND  EDITION, 

BY    REV.    J.  H.    MYERS,    D.D. 


Fac  ut  possim  demonstrare 
Quam  sit  dulce  te  amare, 
Tecum  pati,  tecum  flere, 
Tecum  semper  congaudere. 


PUBLISHED   BY   THE 

AMERICAN     TRACT     SOCIETY, 

28   CoRNHiLL,   Boston. 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

THE  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE. 


These  chapters  are  not  sermons.  The  preparation  of 
them  was  indeed  occasioned  by  preaching  a  series  of  ser- 
mons upon  the  work  of  salvation,  but,  with  the  exception 
of  the  direct  form  of  address,  which  I  thought  it  advisable 
not  to  change,  they  have  been  modified  for  the  press. 
They  form  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  redemption,  exhibited 
in  its  different  phases,  but  particularly  in  its  essential  phase, 
—  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  have  freely  drawn  from  the  fountains  of  cotemporary 
theology,  as  was  natural.  The  works  of  Neander,  Lange, 
Ullmann,  Lucke,  and  Sartorious,  the  numerous  com- 
mentaries on  the  Gospels  as  well  as  the  writings  of  the 
Reformers,  and  especially  Calvin's  Harmony  of  the  Gospels, 
have  been  largely  turned  to  account.  I  have  not  thought 
it  necessary,  however,  to  load  my  book  with  notes  and 
citations,  for  I  have  received  from  these  great  theologians 
a  general  impulse  rather  than  sjoecific  documents.  I  have 
not  attempted  to  set  forth  a  Life  of  Jesus  from  the  scien- 
tific point  of  view,  though  I  have  had  constantly  before  my 
eyes  the  work  of  Strauss,  whose  negative  results  have  en- 
tered much  farther  than  is  thought  into  the  circulation  of 
cotemporary  ideas.  But  the  presentation  of  the  fact  of  re- 
demption in  its  totality  is  of  itself  a  strong  defense  of 
Christianity.  It  is  already  proving  revelation,  when  it  is 
set  forth  in  its  rich  unity  from  the  Fall  to  the  Crucifixion 
and  the  Resurrection.  The  binding  into  one  sheaf  of  the 
scattered  ears  of  wheat  exhibits  and  enhances  their  beauty. 

1*  V 


yi  PREFACE. 

Firmly  believing  in  the  agreement  of  Christianity  with 
conscience,  I  have  aimed  to  exhibit  this  profomid  harmony, 
upon  which  ultimately  rests  every  attempt  to  establish  the 
truth  of  the  gospel  in  the  minds  of  unbelievers.  I  have 
sought  to  give  a  historic  demonstration  of  the  pre-estab- 
lished relation  between  the  human  soul  and  Christ,  by 
showing  that  the  Saviour  was  not  only  the  fi-ee  gift  of  the 
love  of  God,  but  also  the  Desire  of  the  Nations.  With 
this  purpose  I  have  unfolded  to  a  certain  extent  the  work 
of  preparation  for  Christianity  ;  in  my  view,  that  prepara- 
tion consisted  solely  in  developing  the  d'esire  for  salvation. 
These  considerations  appear  to  me  to  throw  great  light 
upon  Judaism  and  its  connection  with  the  general  history 
of  humanity. 

We  know  the  perverted  use  that  may  be  made  of  this 
agreement  between  the  conscience  and  revelation.  It  is 
peiwerted  and  abused  whenever  men  allege  tlieir  identity, 
and,  professing  to  see  in  revelation  nothing  more  than  an 
explanation  of  conscience,  degrade  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
position  of  one  who  only  interprets  the  truth  previously 
and  fully  deposited  in  us.  Nor  is  the  cross,  for  us,  a  bare 
testimony  of  the  love  of  God,  like  the  flowers  beneath  our 
feet  and  the  starry  heavens  above  our  heads.  The  cross 
is  the  altar  of  the  great  sacrifice  which  restores  man  to 
God  and  God  to  man.  Christ  is  for  us  a  Saviour  as  well 
as  a  revealer. 

A  revelation  which  is  a  salvation,  a  work  of  deliverance 
and  reconciliation,  may  be  desired  by  the  heart  of  man, 
but  surely  it  is  not  contained,  implicitly,  in  his  heart,  and 
could  not  be  hidden  away  in  its  lowest  recesses.  The  hun- 
ger and  thirst  for  salvation  are  in  the  human  soul,  but  the 
bread  and  water  which  appease  them  must  come  from 
above.  Conscience  is  pre-adapted  for  the  reception  of 
Christ,  but  Christ,  the  Saviour,  is  not  the  less  necessary  for 


PREFACE.  VU 

the  conscience  ;  we  can  not  be  nourished  by  our  own  hun- 
ger. 

The  Christianity  which  in  our  view  accords  with  the 
higher  wants  of  man  is  that  eternal  Christianity  which, 
from  the  apostoHc  age  to  our  day,  has  consoled  and  saved 
thousands  of  poor  sinners  ;  it  is  that  which,  beginning  by 
declaring  the  Ml  of  man,  leads  us  to  the  cross  of  Gol- 
gotha, and  bids  us  there  adore  the  Saviour-God,  acknowl- 
edged in  the  fullness  of  his  divinity.  Who  would  dare 
affirm  that  Christian  consciousness  has  known  any  other 
for  eighteen  centuries?  Whatever  may  be  our  respect 
for  science,  we  declare  that  science  is  Christian  only  so 
long  as  it  keej^s  within  these  bounds. 

Whilst  in  these  few  pages  offering  my  testimony  rather 
than  my  system,  it  is  not  difficult  to  perceive  toward  what 
end  we  are  gravitating  in  the  advancing  movement  of 
Christian  scientific  thought  in  our  day  ;  it  is  toward  the 
ever-deepening  interpénétration  of  the  human  element  and 
the  divine  element  in  the  conception  of  Christian  minds. 
We  are  now  summoned,  in  this  great  phase  of  the  history 
of  the  church,  to  place  ourselves  more  directly  at  the  very 
center  of  Christian  truth,  whose  first  and  chief  dogma  is 
the  profound  union  of  humanity  and  divinity  in  the  per- 
son of  Jesus  Christ.  And  the  great  point  presented  is,  by 
the  most  thorough  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  by 
the  wisest  use  of  the  accumulated  labors  of  our  predecessors, 
to  become  increasingly  more  Christian  in  our  conceptions 
and  belief;  that  is  to  say,  to  throw  aside  every  pagan  or 
Jewish  element. 

The  task  is  as  perilous  as  it  is  extended  ;  but  whoever 
has  eyes  to  see  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  imposed  by 
God.  Does  not  the  most  violent  attack  upon  Christianity 
proceed  from  pantheistic  fatalism?  and  is  not  this  a  provi^ 
dential  intimation  that  we  are  to  fortify  ourselves  precisely 


YIII  PREFACE. 

at  the  point  which  is  threatened?  This  intimation  has 
been  well  understood  by  the  first  theologians  of  our  times. 
Neander,  Tholuck,  Julius  MUller,  Vinet,  and  others,  have 
clearly  shown  it.  Precious  materials  have  been  amassed 
for  that  reconstruction  of  scientific  theology  which  has 
been  devolved  upon  our  age  so  harassed  with  doubts  ; 
and  we  are  thoroughly  j^ersuaded  that  the  greater  number 
of  those  who  are  laboring  on  in  silence  are  moving  in  the 
direction  which  we  have  indicated,  and  desire,  in  like  man- 
ner with  us,  the  conciliation  without  absorption  of  the  hu- 
man and  the  divine  element.  All  this  is  vague,  it  will  be 
said.  It  is  vague,  we  reply,  as  a  problem  to  be  resolved. 
AVe  hope  that  the  perusal  of  these  discourses  will  more 
clearly  set  forth  the  import  of  our  thought,  and  will  at 
least  make  known  our  desiderata.  Who  could  better 
teach  us  the  true  fusion  of  the  human  and  the  divine  than 
he  who  was  the  God-man?  May  we,  in  our  weakness, 
contribute  to  render  his  image  more  living  to  our  natm*es. 
We  do  not  forget  that  before  theology  there  stands  the 
Christian  life  ;  and  our  most  cherished  desire  would  be  to 
make  Jesus  Christ  more  loved,  in  making  him  better  known. 
Our  wishes  are  admirably  summed  up  in  the  beautiful 
words  of  a  great  Christian  man,  which  we  take  for  our 
motto  :  — 

Fac  ut  possim  demonstrare 
Quam  sit  dulce  te  amare. 
Tecum  pati,  tecum  flere, 
Tecum  semper  congaudere.* 

*  Grant  to  me  the  power  of  proving 
All  the  sweetness  Thee  of  loving, 
With  Thee  weeping,  anguish  bearing, 
In  Thy  joy  for  ever  sharing. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

THE  FALL  AND  THE  PROMISE, U 


CHAPTER    IL 

THE  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  COMING    OF  JESUS    CHRIST.— 

BEFORE  JUDAISM,      \ 37, 

CHAPTER    III. 

THE  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  COMING    OF   JESUS    CHRIST.— 

JUDAISM, , 68 

CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  COMING    OF  JESUS    CHRIST.— 

PREPARATION  A3I0NG  THE  HEATHEN,  .        .        .        .116 

CHAPTER   V. 

THE  NATURE  OF  JESUS   CHRIST,  THE  MAN-GOD,        ...    160 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST, 192 

CHAPTER   VII. 

THE  HOLINESS  OF  JESUS   CHRIST, 229 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

JESUS    CHRIST    AS    PKOrHET.— THE    TEACHING    OF    JESUS 

CHRIST,      ....;. 258 

CHAPTER    IX. 

JESUS  CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  — CHRIST'S  APOLOGETIC  — THE 

SCRIPTURES.  — MIRACLES.  — INTERNAL  EVIDENCE,  .    287 

CHAPTER    X. 

JESUS  CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  — FIRST  PERIOD  OF  THE  MIN- 
ISTRY OF  JESUS  CHRIST,  OR  HIS  MANIFESTATION  TO 
THE  WORLD, 319 

CHAPTER  XI. 
JESUS  CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE, 354 

CHAPTER   XII. 
JESUS  CHRIST  AS  KING, 884 


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1  ): 

\TIÎEOLOGIGilL/ 

THE    REDÏfiflf 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FALL   AND    THE   PROMISE. 

**  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed 
and  her  seed  :  it  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  — 
Gen.  iii.  15. 

SINCE  the  day  when  these  words  sounded  forth,  the 
aspect  of  our  world  has  greatly  changed.  Then 
it  spread  itself  out  before  fallen  man  like  one  vast  and 
desolate  solitude.  Nothing  concealed  the  sadness  of 
his  place  of  exile.  The  sentence  of  condemnation  was 
read  alike  in  the  sky  vailed  for  the  first  time^  and  in 
the  hardened  soil,  which  no  longer  yielded  up  its  har- 
vests except  to  the  most  unrelenting  toil.  The  con- 
trast between  the  blessed  life  of  Eden  and  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  curse  rendered  all  illusion  impossible. 
Death  was  dealing  his  first  strokes  ;  sorrow  was  shed- 
ding her  first  tears  :  a  banished  man  suddenly  torn 
from  his  family  experiences  a  less  painful  shock  than 
Adam  on  leaving  his  original  condition.  To-day  noth- 
ing is  changed,  but  it  is  easier  to  forgot  the  mournful 
reality  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  our  existence.  For, 
first  of  all,  we  are  further  removed  from  the  day  on 

11 


12  THE   REDEEMER. 

which  that  condemnation  was  pronounced.  Six  thou- 
sand years  have  passed  away.  In  one  sense,  it  has 
not  grown  old  ;  it  sounds  out  more  terribly  over  the 
accumulated  dust  of  so  many  generations  ;  but  its 
echo  vibrates  less  powerfully  in  our  hearts.  It  no 
longer  appears  in  its  utter  nakedness,  if  I  may  thus 
speak.  Civilization  has  adorned  it,  and  sometimes 
disguised  it.  Man's  wonderful  power  over  nature 
often  hides  from  us  the  fact  of  his  fall.  Space  and 
time  are  conquered.  We  have  given  to  our  thoughts 
and  wishes  instruments  almost  as  rapid  as  themselves. 
Those  who  judge  of  things  only  from  the  outward 
appearance  find  it  difficult  to  recognize,  in  this  force- 
ful humanity,  developing  its  riches  in  the  vast  cities 
of  our  day,  advancing  throagh  successive  discoveries 
to  the  conquest  of  nature,  which  is  constantly  becom- 
ing the  yet  more  docile  servant  of  its  will,  the  race  of 
the  first  man,  who  is  sorrowfully  going  forth  for  the 
first  time  into  the  desert  of  a  world  accursed.  And 
yet  man  is  an  exile  ;  an  exile  who  may  return  into 
favor,  but  who,  until  he  has  found  God  again,  walks 
on  under  the  burden  of  God's  wrath.  And  this  very 
fact  must  constantly  be  recalled  to  thy  mind,  society 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  —  society  satiated  with  pleas- 
ures, filled  with  unbelief,  intoxicated  with  thy  pride 
and  thy  gold,  with  thy  railways  and  thy  riches, — 
society  corrupted  and  refined,  which,  notwithstanding 
thy  storms  and  convulsions,  art  ever  sleeping  a  deeper 
sleep  of  materialism,  and  art  tempted  to  regard  a 
palace  of  industry  as  the  Paradise  regained.  In 
the  midst  of  these  abodes  glittering  with  luxury,  in 
this  wiiirlpool  of  the  elegant  world,  in  this  tumult  of 


THE   FALL    AND    THE   PROMISE.  13 

affairs,  we  find  the  old  Adam,  the  exile  of  primeval 
days,  him  upon  whom  lies  the  weight  of  the  original 
sentence. 

Civilized  man,  the  amiable,  smiling  man  of  the 
world,  at  one  time  encompassed  with  the  prestige  of 
wealth  or  of  rank,  at  another  adorned  with  the  splen- 
dor of  scientific  a.nd  literary  attainment,  is  the  arti- 
ficial man  ;  the  real  man  is  sure  to  appear  again  at 
the  end.  He  re-appears  in  the  day  of  mourning  and 
of  death.  But  his  re-appearance  is  only  partial. 
Death,  also,  has  had  her  civilization.  She  is  sur- 
rounded with  pomp  or  with  homage.  '  If  we  desire  to 
see  man  such  as  he  is  in  reality,  if  we  wish  to  have  an 
exact  idea  of  his  condition  since  the  Fall,  we  must  go 
back  to  that  day  which  preceded  all  falsehoods  and  all 
illusions,  when  truth  possessed  the  lightning's  clear- 
ness and  flame  ;  that  day  when  man  was  about  to  go 
forth  from  Eden.  The  ground  of  our  destiny  will 
rise  in  some  sort  before  our  eyes  ;  it  will  be  naked 
and  open  before  us.  We  shall  learn  to  know,  in  the 
future,  not  only  particular  sufferings,  but  the  great 
misfortune,  and  also  the  great  consolation  of  humanity. 
We  shall  go  down  into  that  abyss  of  the  Fall  where  is 
to  be  found,  as  Pascal  has  said,  the  knot  of  every 
question.  The  little  questions  which  our  frivolity  has 
magnified,  questions  relating  to  industry,  art,  and 
politics,  will  be  eclipsed  by  the  question  of  life  or 
death,  —  the  question  of  the  Fall  and  of  salvation. 
God  grant  that  I  may  treat  it  w4th  all  the  earnestness 
wdiich  it  demands  !  I  design  to  unfold  in  a  series  of 
discourses  the  plan  of  salvation  so  gloriously  realized 
in  Jesus  Christ.     The  theme  is  comprehended  in  this 


14  THE   REDEEMER. 

passage.  Here  the  condemnation  and  the  promise 
are  outlined  with  bold  prophetic  strokes.  The  way 
that  leads  into  exile,  and  the  pathway  of  return,  are  at 
the  same  time  opened  before  us.  It  is  the  first  stadium 
of  that  long  road  terminating  at  the  cross,  and,  by  the 
cross,  in  heaven  ;  and  with  a  rapid  glance  we  may 
contemplate  it  as  a  whole,  as  well  in  its  briars  and 
thorns  as  in  its  luminous  close.  By  clearly  marking 
the  very  origin  of  the  enterprise  of  our  salvation,  we 
shall  better  appreciate  its  greatness  and  its  total 
character.  We  shall  see  to  what  depth  man  had 
fallen,  to  what  hight  God  willed  to  raise  him  again, 
and  we  shall  understand  that  everything  in  the  past, 
in  the  present,  and  in  the  future,  tends  to  the  accom- 
l^lishment  of  this  vast  design.  The  work  of. Jesus 
Christ  will  be  unfolded  before  us  in  its  infinite  pro- 
portions. No  contemplation  can  more  fully  redound 
to  the  praise  of  his  grace. 

I  will  put,  —  saith  the  Lord,  speaking  to  the  ser- 
pent,—  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  aiid  the  woman, 
and  hetiveeii  thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  it  (lier  seed)  shall 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel. 

The  serpent  here  personifies  the  power  of  dark- 
ness, the  power  of  sin  and  death.  The  seed  of 
the  woman  must  here  be  understood  of  that  blessed 
posterity  which  at  the  appointed  time  raised  up  hu- 
manity from  its  fall.  This  text  teaches  us,  then,  first 
of  all,  that  the  earth  is  the  theater  of  a  perpetual 
contest  between  the  power  of  good  and  the  power  of 
evil.  It  suffices  to  open  one's  eyes  in  order  to  per- 
ceive that  an  unceasing  and  mysterious  war  is  waged 
here  below  between  opposing  forces.     Do  we  not  see 


THE   FALL   AND    THE   PROMISE.  15 

them  incessantly  contending  in  society,  in  individual 
life,  in  nature  herself?  Is  there  not  turmoil  and 
agitation  everywhere  ?  Is  not  this  world  a  world  of 
contrasts  and  of  discords  ?  The  simplest  experience 
teaches  us  this  sad  truth  ;  but  by  experience  we  are 
led  no  further.  It  does  not  disclose  to  us  the  pro- 
found import  of  this  universal  struggle. 

Human  reason,  in  despair  of  explaining  the  con- 
flict, finds  in  it  a  fated  condition  of  all  development. 
It  judges  that  it  is  conformable  to  the  wisdom  of  God  — 
whenever,  at  least,  it  admits  a  personal  God  —  to  im- 
pose a  harsh  law  of  suffering,  without  any  appreciable 
motive,  upon  all  earthly  progress.  Such  a  mocking 
explanation  is  not  given  in  the  Scriptures.  Whoever 
has  read  them  with  faith  can  not  regard  these  forces  as 
two  blind  agents  whom  chance  has  unbound  and  let 
loose  one  against  the  other  ;  they  are  two  free  and 
moral  powers,  —  the  power  of  perdition  and  the  power 
of  salvation.  They  pursue  each  other  and  clasp  each 
other  in  strife  throughout  the  entire  creation,  from 
the  soil  which  w^e  tread  beneath  our  feet,  even  into 
the  depths  of  our  hearts.  The  power  of  sin  has  left 
its  traces  upon  the  earth,  and  its  impure  breath 
awakens  our  lusts.  At  the  same  time,  the  power  of 
love  shines  in  the  azure  of  the  sky,  in  the  beauties 
of  nature  preserved  for  our  gratification  ;  and  by  this 
power  conscience  is  inspired.  This  gigantic  contest, 
prosecuted  in  every  clime  and  in  all  ages,  in  the 
history  of  nations  and  in  that  of  individuals,  has  for 
its  stake  —  if  I  may  venture  thus  to  speak  —  the  im- 
mortal soul  of  man.  You  understand,  my  brethren, 
what  scope  is  given  by  this  revelation  to  the  events 


16  THE   REDEEMER. 

\\\\\q\\  are  taking  place  on  the  earth.  Henceforth  the 
history  of  humanity  is  not,  any  more  than  the  history 
of  the  individual,  a  strange  enigma.  The  cause  of 
all  these  divisions  is  the  greatest  conceivable  ;  eternal 
interests  are  involved  in  the  conflict.  Behind  the 
visible  champions  are  invisible  champions,  vi^ho  are 
pursuing  an  end  ever  the  same  ;  on  the  one  side 
hatred,  on  the  other  love.  The  Lord  hath  declared, 
"  There  is  war  between  the  seed  of  the  serpent  and 
the  divine  seed  of  the  woman."  With  what  emotion 
ought  we  to  look  upon  the  conflict  !  and  perhaps  we 
have  never  given  it  a  thought.  Careless  spectators  of 
this  startling  drama,  the  unfolding  of  which  has  a  direct 
influence  upon  our  eternal  destinies,  we  have  perhaps 
given  heed  only  to  the  decorations  and  the  incidents 
of  the  scene,  or  we  have  gone  to  sleep,  as  if  the  mat- 
ter in  hand  were  a  frivolous  tale.  And  yet  heaven  and 
hell  are  attentive  to  its  issue  as  respects  each  one  of 
us.  Shall  this  man  be  lost,  or  be  saved  ?  Such  is  the 
question  which  they  never  cease  asking. 

But  wherefore  this  conflict  ?  Our  minds  naturally 
raise  this  question.  Is  it  a  necessary,  indispensable 
condition  of  human  life  ?  Has  the  earth  from  all 
time  been  delivered  up  to  incessant  warfare  ?  No,  my 
brethren  ;  and,  if  you  doubt  it,  I  would  appeal  to  the 
very  place  where  the  words  of  our  text  were  pro- 
nounced. They  were  spoken  in  Eden,  at  the  moment, 
it  is  true,  when  Eden  was  about  to  be  closed  against 
man.  Give  it  a  rapid  glance  ;  soon  it  will  have  dis- 
appeared ;  it  will  have  vanished  away,  as  vanishes  the 
pure  and  brilliant  morning  of  a  burning  day.  See 
how  all  is  beautiful,  how  all  is  harmonious  in  that 


THE   FALL    AXD    THE   Plî OMISE.  17 

abode!  What  splendor  in  the  sky!  —  what  happi- 
ness !  How  easy  to  see  that  i\\Q  power  of  love  alone 
has  been  present  here,  and  that  it  has  freely  displayed 
itself  in  the  generous  profusion  of  its  gifts  ! 

Are  you  still  in  doubt  ?  Do  you  find  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  there  has  been  a  time  without  conflict  and 
without  anguish  ?  Contemplate  man  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  God  is  announcing  this  conflict  to  him. 
He  flees  with  confusion  before  his  Father, he  trembles, 
he  is  afraid,  he  hides  himself.  It  is  because  he  feels 
that  if  the  power  of  sin  and  death  is  unchained,  it  is 
his  hand  alone  that  has  done  it  ;  because  he  knows 
that  he  has  only  himself  to  arraign  for  that  sad  and 
unnatural  state  of  warfare.  Believe  that  for  this  he  feels 
shame  and  terror.  He  is  yet  new  in  falsehood.  He  has 
not  had  time  to  search  out  many  words  wherewith  to 
impose  upon  himself.  Later  lie  will  be  satisfied  with 
sophisms,  and  will  aver  that  everything  is  normal  in  his 
condition.  Confide  rather  in  his  first  impressions  than 
in  his  later  reasonings.  Behold  in  his  inward  trouble 
the  cry  of  conscience,  and  confess  with  us  that  if  the 
power  of  love  alone  is  no  longer  manifested  to  the  race, 
it  is  because  man  has  departed  from  his  natural  path. 

Let  us  gather  up  and  apprehend  the  testimony  of 
Scripture  on  this  subject.  And  first,  if  there  is  a  con- 
flict, it  is  not  because  two  opposing  principles  were 
brought  face  to  face  from  all  eternity.  On  this  sup- 
position, we  must  acknowledge  a  God  of  evil  confront- 
ing a  God  of  goodness  ;  a  God  of  darkness  warring 
against  a  God  of  light  ;  Ahriman  against  Ormuzd.  This 
would  be  substantially  proclaiming  atheism.  What  is 
a  God  who  is  not  an  absolute  and  sovereign  being  ? 
2* 


18  THE   REDEEMER. 

Let  us  acknowledge  with  the  Scriptures  that  goodness 
alone  is  everlasting,  that  it  alone  has  had  no  beginning. 
It  is  God  himself.  It  can  declare,  I  am  that  lam. 
Evil,  on  the  contrary,  had  a  beginning.  It  existed 
neither  in  the  Creator,  nor  in  the  plan  of  the  creation. 
It  can  in  no  degree  be  attributed  to  God,  under  peril 
of  sapping  the  very  idea  of  God.  It  can  come  only 
from  the  creature  ;  and  it  is  here,  my  brethren,  that  I  ask 
your  entire  attention,  for  the  solution  of  this  question 
contains,  in  the  germ,  the  solution  of  all  others. 

Whatever  proceeds  from  the  hands  of  God  is  perfect 
as  ho  is  perfect,  and  bears  the  signature  of  divinity. 
But  among  the  beings  created  by  him  there  are  those  of 
a  superior  nature  ;  such  are  the  beings  made  in  his 
image, — spiritual  beings.  These  are  not  subjected  to 
mechanical  laws.  It  is  not  with  them  as  with  the  star, 
wliich  can  not  quit  the  pathway  in  which  the  almighty 
hand  has  sent  it  forth,  and  which  is  imprisoned  in  the 
azure  sky  by  an  invincible  necessity.  Spiritual  beings 
are  free  beings  ;  they  do  not  gravitate  toward  God  by 
constraint  of  a  physical  law  ;  they  are  called  to  turn 
toward  him  freely  and  of  themselves.  That  is  to  say, 
in  other  words,  they  are  called  to  love  him.  Love 
reposes  upon  freedom.  A  constrained  love  is  not  a 
genuine  love.  As  well  might  we  say  that  the  earth, 
turning  round  the  sun,  loves  the  sun.  Spiritual  be- 
ings must  therefore  determine  themselves  freely  in 
favor  of  God,  or  otherwise  they  are  no  longer  spir- 
itual beings.  But  how  shall  they  freely  determine 
themselves  thus  if  the  opportunity  is  not  offered  ?  At 
the  moment  when  they  proceed  from  the  hands  of  God 
they  are  in  an  infantile  state.    They  have  not  conscious- 


THE   FALL   AND    THE    PROMISE.  19 

ness  of  that  which  they  owe  to  him.  They  are  therefore 
morally  unfinished  and  incomplete.  They  will  have 
fulfilled  their  destiny  only  when  by  an  act  of  will  they 
shall  have  consummated  the  giving  up  of  their  being  to 
God.  And  in  order  to  that,  an  appeal  must  needs  be 
made  to  their  will  ;  they  must  learn  to  distinguish  it 
from  that  of  God,  that  they  may  be  able  to  refer  it  back 
to  liim.  A  trial  of  their  freedom  is  needful  ;  they 
must  be  required  to  choose  between  love  and  self-seek- 
ing,—  a  perilous  choice,  a  dangerous  trial,  I  admit, 
but  a  trial  necessary  to  the  full  development  of  the 
spiritual  being  ;  if  he  comes  out  of  it  victorious,  then 
is  he  consummated  in  his  union  with  God,  without  be- 
ing absorbed  by  him  ;  if  he  succumbs,  he  has  only  him- 
self to  censure.  And  thus  all  is  to  the  glory  of  God. 
Such  is,  in  our  view,  the  Scriptural  solution. 

If  it  be  objected,  that  we  greatly  exalt  the  liberty  of 
the  creature,  we  accept  the  reproach.  If  this  liberty 
is  not  earnestly  admitted  and  maintained,  we  have  no 
understanding  either  of  the  gospel  or  of  conscience. 
We  perceive  both  these  revelations  lost  in  the  abyss 
of  pantheism.  We  no  longer  know  the  nature  of  good- 
ness, of  evil,  or  of  duty.  The  alternations  of  good  and 
evil  are  regulated  as  are  the  alternations  of  day  and 
night.  Astronomy  supplants  morality,  and  we  can  no 
longer  repeat  those  beautiful  words  of  the  hymn  :  — 

Tous  les  cieux  et  leur  splendeur 

Ne  valent  pas  pour  ta  gloire 

Un  seul  soupir  (l'un  seul  cœur.* 

*  How  poor  the  shining  hosts  above, 

When  weighed  against  one  contrite  sigh, 
To  glorify  the  God  of  love. 


20  THE   REDEEMER. 

And  let  no  one  tell  us  that  we  do  thus  augment  hu- 
man pride.  A  strange  manner  of  augmenting  it,  to  at- 
tribute all  evil  to  the  creature,  all  good  to  the  Creator  Î 
Apart  from  the  earnest  recognition  of  freedom,  VvG  can 
not  avoid  referring  evil  ulthuately  to  God.^  It  is  then 
his  cause  which  we  defend  in  defending  freedom  ;  we  are 
jealous  of  his  rights,  which  we  are  sometimes  charged 
with  sacrificing.  Moreover,  this  freedom  is  a  gil't  from 
him,  and  in  it  we  are  contending  for  the  root  of  all 
moral  life.  We  desire  to  have  a  heart  to  give,  because 
we  desire  to  love.  Many  mysteries  still  remain,  and 
we  do  not  pretend  to  explain  either  foreknowledge  or 
the  operation  of  grace.  Over  that  region  of  the  illim- 
itable we  see  vast  shadows  sweeping.  But  it  is  not 
the  darkness  of  a  winter's  night,  the  heavy  darkness  of 
fatalism.  It  is  a  night  of  summer  illumined  with  celes- 
tial irradiations.  Divine  love  shines  therein,  as  the 
azure  depth  of  heaven  in  which  tlie  stars  are  glitter- 
ing, and  it  is  preserved  pure  and  untouched  by  our 
faith  in  freedom,  that  does  not  suffer  evil  to  be  cast 
back  upon  God.  Evil  must  be  wholly  imputed  to  the 
creature  who  has  gone  astray. 

Do  not  believe,  my  brethren,  that  we  have  surren- 
dered our  minds  to  suppositions  more  or  less  plausible. 
The  facts  of  revelation  are  on  our  side.  Of  that  power 
of  darkness  which  in  our  text  is  personified  by  the  ser- 
pent, the  Scriptures  teach  us  the  glorious  origin.  He 
is  an  archangel  fallen  ;  and  with  regard  to  him,  we  may 
repeat  those  words  of  the  prophet,  "  How  art  thou  fallen^ 
star  of  the  morning  .^"  The  Lord  has  said  of  him,  "  He 
did  not  abide  in  the  truth."  Abide  !  What  does  that 
imply,  but  that  lie  was  once  in  the  truth  ?     We  can  not 


THE   FALL   AND    THE   PROMISE  21 

lift  the  vail  which  hides  from  us  the  history  of  the  an- 
gels, but  the  fall  of  Satan  instructs  us  that  they  also 
have  had  their  trial.  They  were  summoned  to  decide 
in  favor  of  God.  A  portion  of  them  continued  in  the 
truth,  and  attained  to  the  complete  development  of  their 
being.  Others  .  .  .  Look  at  the  part  played  by  Satan 
in  the  garden  of  Eden,  his  impatient  eagerness  to  frus- 
trate the  purposes  of  God,  and  to  destroy  his  new 
creature.  See  the  hatred  of  him  whom  Jesus  Christ 
calls  a  murderer  and  a  liar  from  the  beginning  ;  and, 
remembering  that  he  was  formerly  one  of  the  seraphs 
who  approached  nearest  to  the  throne  of  the  God 
of  love,  you  will  discern  the  entire  extent  of  his  fall, 
and  you  will  better  understand  his  fearful  destiny  in 
reflecting  upon  the  incredible  perversity  which  from 
such  a  higlit  could  hurl  hina  so  low. 

We  know  now  whence  comes  that  power  of  evil  which 
appears  by  the  side  of  man  in  the  garden  of  Eden. 
We  are  also  in  a  position  to  conceive  the  object  of  the 
commandment  given  him,  which  imperils  his  freedom. 
Created  in  the  image  of  God,  created  free,  he,  like  the 
angels,  must  have  his  trial.  He  is  yet  a  child  ;  he  is 
in  a  state  of  innocence.  From  innocence  he  must  pass 
into  holiness.  He  is  bound  to  God  as  the  ivy  that  en- 
twines the  oak.  A  bond  of  love  should  take  the  place 
of  this  natural  tie.  He  is  called  to  yield  himself  to 
love  while  having  consciousness  of  that  which  he  does. 
Do  not  complain  of  the  danger  which  he  incurs.  It  is 
complaining  of  the  means  offered  to  him  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  high  destiny.  To  ask  for  him  the  impos- 
sibility of  falling,  is  to  ask  for  him  the  inert  nature  of 
the  plant.     The  commandment  of  God  is  the  trial  of  his 


22  THE   REDEEMEE. 

freedom.  Comprehend  its  importance.  In  point  of 
fact,  God  sets  before  man  the  most  solemn  question  : 
"  I  disclose  to  thee  thy  freedom  ;  thou  canst  choose  be- 
tween my  will  and  thine,  between  me  and  thee  ;  be- 
tween me,  who  have  loaded  thee  with  benefits,  and  thee, 
who,  from  the  breath  which  animates  thy  dust  to  thine 
immortal  soul,  hast  received  everything  from  me.  Wilt 
thou  love  me  ?  " 

To  this  question  you  know  what  was  the  reply  of 
man.  "No,"  he  has  said  by  his  acts, — "no,  I  will  not 
love  thee."  I  will  believe  the  first  one  who  comes, 
rather  than  thee.  I  will  believe  him  although  he  takes 
the  position  of  thine  enemy.  And  that  which  shall  be 
most  seductive  in  his  words  will  be  the  promise  of  sup- 
planting thee."  Such  was  the  trivial  offense  of  Adam, 
to  use  the  language  of  the  world  ! 

Does  it  not  seem,  my  brethren,  that  all  is  lost? 
The  solemn,  decisive  trial  is  ended:  by  this  rebellion 
God  has  been  repulsed  and  offended  in  the  most  un- 
worthy manner.  Doubtless  the  wretched  being  who 
has  dared  to  plant  himself  against  the  Almighty  will 
go,  laden  with  chains  of  darkness,  to  consort  with 
rebel  angels.  Already  these  felicitate  themselves,  and 
begin  to  have  some  foretaste  of  the  only  joy  possible 
in  hell,  —  the  joy  of  satisfied  hate.  They  err.  Love 
has  resources  which  hatred  can  not  foresee.  "  Man 
must  never  be  chastised  ;  he  will  be  banished,  he  shall 
die.  The  just  God  can  not  recall  his  threatening, 
but  at  the  same  time  he  will  pardon.  Oh,  foolish- 
ness !  The  great  God  of  heaven  forget  this  outrage, 
raise  again  the  creeping  worm  who  thought  to  make 
himself  a  God,  love  him  once  more  immediately  after 


THE   FALL    AND    THE    PROMISE.  '      23 

that  fatal  day  of  revolt,  —  to  this  extent  forgot  his 
offended  dignity  !  "  A  foolishness  which  surpasses  tlio 
understanding  of  the  wise  !  Holy  and  glorious  fool- 
ishness of  infinite  charity,  which  no  power  can  equal  ! 
Then  began  that  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb  that  was  slain, 
according  to  the  gospel,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  The  first  manifestation  of  redeeming  love  is 
in  the  very  contest  which  arose  between  the  power  of 
goodness  and  the  power  of  perdition.  Man  deserved 
to  be  abandoned  to  himself  and  to  death,  and  to  bo 
wholly  given  up  to  the  angel  of  darkness  whom  he 
had  preferred  before  God.  If  there  is  a  contest,  it  is, 
then,  because  there  has  occurred  a  miraculous  and 
benevolent  interposition  on  the  part  of  the  power  of 
love.  It  could  not  be  otherwise  manifested,  for  it 
can  not  set  aside  the  rights  of  divine  justice.  A  rep- 
aration is  needed.  This  reparation  must  be  obtained 
from  humanity  itself.  It  must  be  led  to  labor  for 
this  ;  and,  as  it  has  let  loose  in  its  own  heart  and  upon 
the  earth  the  powers  of  darkness,  this  result  can  bo 
achieved  only  at  the  cost  of  a  most  stubborn  con- 
flict. But  the  very  existence  of  such  a  contest  is  the 
manifestation  of  the  forgiveness  of  God.  It  could 
not  be  conceived  of  as  possible  in  the  abode  of  a  rem- 
ediless condemnation.  There  could  exist  only  the 
withering  uniformity  of  evil,  and  the  frightful  immo- 
bility of  despair. 

Recognize,  then,  first  of  all,  the  love  of  God  in  that 
succession  of  the  generations  of  man,  in  that  tumult- 
uous movement  of  history,  in  those  conflicts  of  ideas 
and  sentiments  which  ever  conceal  the  great  conflict 
of  good  and  evil,  of  error  and  of  truth,  and  say  to 


24  TH?:   REDEEMEE. 

yourself  that  a  world  of  combat  is  a  world  not  for- 
saken by  the  God  of  love.  Recognize  in  the  rendings 
of  your  hearts,  and  in  the  battles  of  your  thoughts, 
the  presence  of  the  pitying  power.  The  simple  fact 
alone  of  this  contest  brought  before  us  by  our  text 
ought  to  make  you  bless  the  God  of  love. 

But  there  is  more  than  this  :  not  only  is  the  contest 
announced,  the  issue  is  also  declared  :  The  seed  of 
the  zi'oman  shall  crush  thy  head^  was  said  to  the  ser- 
pent. It  is  not  possible  that  the  power  of  evil  should 
prevail  over  the  power  of  goodness.  Love  is  more 
indefatigable  than  hate.  It  does  not  grow  weary  :  it 
seeks  never  its  own  gratification  ;  the  more  unfortu- 
nate and  destitute  its  object,  the  more  shiningly  dis- 
played are  its  boundless  compassions.  Do  not  fear, 
then,  that  the  pitying  power  should  yield  the  ground 
to  the  malevolent  power  ;  in  proportion  as  earth  shall 
become  more  and  more  a  scene  of  sorrow,  in  that 
proportion  shall  love  be  there  manifested.  Let  us  not 
forget  that  it  is  God  who  speaks.  It  is  he  who  by  a 
word  created  the  world,  and  whose  breath  sustains 
universal  life.  It  is,  in  especial,  he  who  made  the 
heart  of  man,  who  knows  all  its  springs,  and  who  has 
preserved  for  himself  a  witness  in  the  depth  of  the 
soul.  It  is  the  omnipotent  Father,  who  holds  in  his 
hand  all  the  fibers  of  our  moral  being,  in  order  to 
draw  us  to  himself.  Moreover,  he  has  promised  it. 
This  promise  was  the  worst  chastisement  of  the 
tempter.  He  pronounced  it  on  the  first  day  of 
history  ;  he  repeated  it  by  the  mouth  of  his  Son,  when 
a  second  phase  of  history  was  inaugurated  by  the 
Son  in  declaring  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not 


THE   FALL    AND    THE   PROMISE.  25 

prevail  against  his  church.  Thus  we  march  on  be- 
neath  the  blessing  of  a  promise  of  victory.  Let  us 
never  forget  this.  The  worst  device  of  the  enemy- 
consists  in  depriving  us  of  this  recollection.  Take 
heed  lest  by  your  unbelief  you  ascribe  falsehood  to 
God.  The  power  of  evil  fortifies  itself  with  all  the 
strength  which  you  impute  to  it.  He  uses  this  to 
beat  down  your  shaken  soul.  Never  give  him  the 
satisfaction  of  believing  in  the  possibility  of  his  tri- 
umph. When  it  seems  to  you  that  he  has  completely 
conquered  in  society  ;  when  truth  and  justice  appear 
to  you  stifled  by  error,  hypocrisy,  and  injustice  ;  when 
your  moral  sense  is  sadly  wounded  by  the  success  of 
evil  and  its  insolent  joy,  —  in  the  name  of  the  promise 
of  those  primeval  days,  falter  not  in  your  confidence 
in  goodness  and  in  righteousness,  doubt  not  of  the 
victory.  When  religious  society  or  the  church  seems 
to  you  ready  to  founder  ;  when  superstition,  heresy, 
and  materialism  —  that  subtle  venom  of  the  serpent — 
have  perverted  the  holy  gospel  of  God  :  when  the 
difficulties  opposing  a  renovation  appear  to  you  insur- 
mountable,—  in  the  name  of  the  promise  of  the  first 
days,  believe  in  the  blessed  renewal,  in  the  salutary 
purification  ;  doubt  not  of  the  victory.  And,  finally, 
when  in  your  individual  life,  assailed  by  temptation, 
encompassed  with  snares,  almost  fascinated  by  the  se- 
ductions of  a  corrupting  world,  you  imagine  to  your- 
selves that  you  are  about  to  yield,  and  you  cry  out, 
"  The  combat  is  too  hard,  the  temptation  is  too 
strong,"  resume  your  courage,  in  the  name  of  the 
promise  of  the  first  days.  Rely  upon  Him  who  prom- 
ised to  fight  for  you.     Doubt  not  of  the  victory.    Never 

3 


26  ï'^'^^    REDEEMER. 

was  it  more  necessary  in  these  sad  days  to  draw  out 
from  this  first  promise  consolation  and  hope.  It  is 
destined  to  be  for  us,  during  our  long  journey  in  the 
desert,  that  which  the  luminous  cloud  was  for  Israel. 
Let  it  enlighten  to-day  our  somber  pathway.  There  is 
no  dark  epoch  which  it  has  not  enlightened.  Did  it 
not  light  up  even  the  entrance  of  man  into  the  valley 
of  trial  ?  When  did  the  head  of  the  serpent  rise  up 
more  victorious,  apparently,  than  on  that  day  when, 
through  his  seductive  art,  sinful  man  fled  from  his 
God  amid  the  trees  of  the  garden  ?  And  yet  then  it 
was  said  that  his  head  should  be  crushed  !  Let  the 
consolation  which  sufficed  for  that  day  —  the  saddest 
of  days  —  suffice  unto  us  in  our  time. 

Our  text  discloses  to  us  not  only  the  great  conflict 
between  good  and  evil,  and  its  result  ;  it  teaches  us, 
also,  what  is  the  principal  weapon  employed  in  the 
combat.  A  strange  thing, — the  weapon  is  the  same 
on  both  sides  !  It  is  wielded  with  directly  opposite 
purposes,  but  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  two  adversaries. 
This  weapon  is  sufferhig.  God  said  to  the  serpent, 
''  Thou  shalt  wound  the  heel  of  the  son  of  the  woman." 
This  figure  indicates  the  numberless  sorrows  Avhich 
are  the  result  of  the  condemnation,  —  sorrows  which, 
through  the  grace  of  God,  are  not  a  mortal  wound 
for  our  souls,  as  is  signified  by  the  expression  of  a 
wound  in  the  heel.  They  appeared  to  be  a  signal 
proof  of  the  triumph  of  Satan.  And  it  has  proved 
that  those  afflictions  —  I  speak  of  afflictions  in  general, 
and  not  merely  of  those  endured  by  the  servants  of 
God  —  have  concurred  in  the  most  effectual  manner 
to  secure  the  triumph  of  divine  love,  and  to  prepare 


TBE  FALL   AND    THE   PROMISE.  27 

for  its  supreme  manifestation  in  Jesus  Christ.  Out- 
ward happiness  in  sin  leads  to  hardening.  Suffering 
breaks  the  heart.  On  the  one  hand,  doubtless,  it 
subserves  the  justice  of  God,  but  not  the  less  is  his 
love  served  by  it.  Moreover,  the  attributes  of  God 
form  a  living  unity.  Love  can  not  be  severed  from 
justice  any  more  than  justice  from  love.  Rejoice 
not,  therefore,  0  Satan,  because  man  is  driven  from 
Eden.  Nothing  would  have  better  aided  thy  black 
projects  than  the  possession  of  that  delicious  abode 
after  the  Fall.  Then  thou  couldst  have  counted 
upon  success.  But  now,  exile  and  its  bitterness  will 
soften  his  pride.  Soon  sighing  and  complaining  will 
banish  blasphemy  from  his  withered  lips.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  thy  accursed  angels  which  guard  the  en- 
trance of  the  earthly  paradise  ;  it  is  the  seraphs  of 
the  God  of  love,  and  their  sword  recalls  the  fact  that 
there  exists  a  consuming  fire.  If  the  earth  is  cov- 
ered with  briars  and  thorns,  it  is  not  merely  because 
it  is  the  earth  of  condemnation,  but  also  because  it  is 
-the  earth  of  preparation  and  of  salutary  trial.  Every 
time  that  man  shall  eat  his  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his 
brow,  his  sad  destiny  will  be  brought  to  his  mind,  and 
the  hour  will  come  when  in  thy  despite  all  these  sor- 
rows and  all  these  accumulated  labors  will  impel  him 
to  cry  unto  God  in  his  distress.  Wound  him  only  ; 
thou  shalt  do  no  more  than  urge  him  to  flee  more 
swiftly  toward  the  Redeemer.  Thou  didst  believe  the 
victory  thine  when  his  tears  were  seen  to  flow,  and, 
behold  !  thy  powerful  adversary,  whose  first  word 
was,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  weep  ;  they  shall  be 
comforted." 


^8  THE  REDEEMER.  ' 

How  this  contemplation  of  affliction  is  adapted  to 
strengthen  us  !  In  every  sorrow,  righteousness  and 
pity  embrace  each  other.  Let  us  learn  to  discern 
therein  the  hand  of  righteousness,  which  smites  us  for 
our  rebellions,  as  the  hand  of  love,  which,  while  smiting 
us.  knocks  at  the  door  of  our  hearts.  Who  would  not 
draw  resignation  from  the  certainty  that  affliction  is 
eminently  the  weapon  wielded  by  the  power  of  love  ? 
Who  would  not  suffer  himself  to  be  pierced  by  that 
blessed  sword  which  inflicts  mortal  blows  only  on  the 
power  of  perdition?  Whenever  we  feel  its  piercing 
point,  let  us  believe  that  we  were  about  to  yield  to  the 
attack  of  our  adversary,  and  that  the  restorative  stroke 
prevented  us  from  experiencing  a  repulse  that  might 
have  proved  fatal.  Yes,  it  is  affliction  which  at  every 
moment  of  our  spiritual  life  has  caused  the  power  of 
salvation  to  prevail  within  us  over  the  power  of  perdi- 
tion. It  is  this  which  has  detached  us  from  the  vani- 
ties of  time,  which  has  awakened  us  from  our  moral 
sleep,  and  which  has  made  us  say,  "  My  soul  thirsteth 
for  God."  It  is  this  which  has  made  our  souls  know 
the  droughts  of  summer,  of  which  the  prophet  speaks  ; 
it  is  this  which  has  broken  our  bones,  which  has  placed 
us  in  the  dust  of  death,  and  which  has  prepared  us  to 
utter  the  cry,  "  Lord,  save  us  ;  we  perish."  Mysterious 
messenger  sent  to  the  prodigal  son,  it  has  brought  him 
back  to  the  Father,  bowed  down,  his  garments  rent 
and  stained.  And  at  the  hour  when  we  found  the 
Father,  affliction,  spiritualized,  ennobled,  transformed 
into  sorrow  for  sin,  caused  tears  of  repentance  to  flow 
from  our  eyes.  It  preceded  and  guided  our  restora- 
tion.    From  the  day  of  our  reconciliation,  trial,  like  the 


THE   FALL   AND    THE   PROMISE.  29 

angel  of  God  that  buffeted  St.  Paul,  has  been  our 
guardian  angel  ;  that  austere  companion  of  our  jour- 
ney will  leave  us  only  on  the  threshold  of  that  city  above, 
where  there  are  no  more  tears,  because  there  is  no 
more  sin.  Thus  our  individual  experience  comes  to 
sustain  the  general  truth  which  we  have  established. 
The  sorrowful  wound  precedes,  accompanies,  and  per- 
fects the  work  of  salvation. 

It  is  time  to  turn  to  that  work  itself,  w^ithout  which 
all  that  we  have  said  is  devoid  of  meaning.  And  here 
we  touch  upon  the  most  elevated  part  of  our  theme. 
How  was  this  work  accomplished  ?  By  the  greatest  of 
sufferings  ;  it  could  not  be  otherwise.  Satan  is  not 
content  with  the  afflictions  which  are  the  natural  result 
of  sin.  With  his  murderous  blows  he  follows  after  all 
the  men  of  God.  In  running  over  the  religious  his- 
tory of  humanity,  we  shall  perceive  that  if  the  adver- 
sary seeks  to  hold  his  own  followers  by  means  of  ter- 
restrial joys,  he  strives  at  the  same  time  to  enfeeble 
and  overcome  the  sons  of  God  by  persecution.  He 
has  always  grossly  deceived  himself  ;  that  weapon  has  • 
turned  against  him,  for  affliction  has  constantly  ele- 
vated and  illustrated  the  cause  of  God.  The  wicked 
has  fallen  into  the  snare  which  he  had  prepared.  But 
never  was  he  more  foiled  in  his  attempt  than  when  he 
violently  assailed  him  who  was,  by  eminence,  the  man 
of  God.  He  wounded  him  in  the  heel  with  his  sharp- 
est arrows.  Against  him  he  brought  to  bear  all  afflic- 
tions that  can  be  imagined.  And  that  wounded  heel 
proved  to  be  precisely  that  which  crushed  his  head. 
See,  then,  suffering  truly  victorious  and  health-giving. 
The  sufferings  of  which  we  have  spoken  would  possess 


30  THE   REDEEMER. 

no  utility  without  the  suffering  of  the  Redeemer. 
They  have  no  expiatory  value,  because  they  are  more 
or  less  stained,  as  is  everything  which  proceeds  from 
man.  All  the  tears  that  have  bedewed  the  earth,  all 
the  blood  which  has  been  shed,  all  general  and  special 
afflictions,  —  more  in  number  than  the  sands  of  the  sea, 
—  can  not  blot  out  one  of  the  sins  committed  by  the  de- 
scendants of  Adam.  God  does  not  thirst  for  our  tears. 
That  which  he  desires  is  our  hearts.  The  heart  of 
man  was  torn  from  him  ;  it  is  necessary  that  it  be 
brought  back  to  him.  It  was  torn  from  him  by  an  act 
of  rebellion  ;  it  must  be  restored  to  him  by  an  act  of 
obedience.  That  act  of  obedience  can  be  no  other  than 
a  bloody  sacrifice.  For  now  the  question  is  not  con- 
cerning the  accepting  of  the  will  of  God  under  the 
blessed  conditions  of  Eden  ;  it  must  be  accepted  under 
the  deplorable  conditions  of  the  condemnation  ;  that 
is  to  say,  all  its  consequences  must  be  accepted,  freely 
accepted,  without  having  been  deserved.  There  must  ^ 
be  obedience  unto  death,  since  death  is  the  destiny  of 
the  sons  of  Adam.  Suffering  is  therefore  the  indispen- 
sable condition  of  salvation.  Without  the  shedding  of 
blood,  no  salvation.  That  shedding  of  blood  has  taken 
place  ;  salvation  has  been  effected  ;  our  sufferings,  then, 
have  a  blessed  operation  in  preparing  us  to  desire  it 
and  to  receive  it. 

But  Avhat  is  in  reality  that  posterity  of  the  woman 
which  is  destined  to  fulfill  the  promise  ?  Let  us  read 
our  text  again  ;  it  answers  this  question  also  :  I  will 
put  enmity  between  tJiee  and  the  woman,  and  between 
thy  seed  and  her  seed.  The  contest,  as  we  have  said, 
is  between  the  power  of  perdition  and  the  power  of 


THE   FALL    AND    THE   PROMISE.  31 

love,  between  Satan  and  God.  But  these  two  powers 
do  not  altogether  engage  in  a  direct  conflict  with 
each  other.  Each  has  its  champions.  The  seed  of  the 
serpent  fights  against  the  seed  of  God.  Both  are  to  be 
sought  for  among  the  children  of  Adam.  Humanity 
is  divided  into  two  humanities  ;  the  one  is  in  such 
wise  assimilated  to  itself  by  the  power  of  darkness, 
that  it  is  called  the  seed  of  the  serpent;  the  other 
is  in  such  wise  assimilated  to  itself  by  the  power  of 
divine  love  as  to  become  its  incarnation.  It  can  not 
be  otherwise.  Man  as  a  free  creature  could  not  be  the 
price  of  a  combat  in  which  he  had  not  taken  part. 
Satan  can  not  triumph  over  man  except  through  man  ; 
all  the  legions  of  fallen  angels  do  not  equal  for  him  a 
single  man  enrolled  beneath  his  standard.  Nor  can 
the  work  of  salvation,  any  more  than  the  triumph  of 
Satan,  be  accomplished  apart  from  our  concurrence. 
It  was  humanity  that  abandonee!  God.  It  must  return 
to  him,  it  must  offer  the  restorative  sacrifice.  Doubt- 
less it  can  not  do  this  of  itself,  for  it  is  sold  under  sin, 
and  is  the  slave  of  sin.  Therefore,  wdien  God  prom- 
ises that  the  posterity  of  the  woman  shall  crush  the 
serpent's  head,  he  thereby  engages  to  intervene  with 
sovereign  power  in  the  work  of  our  salvation  ;  he 
promises  the  assimilation  of  humanity  by  himself  ;  and 
be  pleased  to  observe  that  I  am  not  speaking  of  a  mere 
moral  assimilation,  I  speak  of  a  positive  assimilation, 
and  I  know  no  other  than  the  incarnation  of  the  Son. 
But  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  the  Son  must  be  truly 
a  man,  not  only  as  to  the  flesh  whick  he  borrows  from 
humanity,  but  also  by  a  moral  bond  which  is  linked  in 
with  it.     He  is  to  be  the  representative  of  luimanity, 


32  THE  JIEDEEMER. 

and  for  that  cause  ho  must  be  desired  by  it,  by  that  por- 
tion, at  least,  which  is  not  dedicated  to  the  service  of 
Satan.  He  is  to  become  not  only  the  fruit  of  her 
womb,  but  also  the  fruit  of  her  broken  heart.  If  Je- 
sus Christ  was  marvelously  begotten  of  a  woman,  he 
was  not  less  miraculously  begotten  in  the  soul  of  hu- 
manity. The  desire  of  a  Saviour  which  it  experienced 
was  a  seed  of  God. 

This  divine  seed  was  deposited  in  the  heart  of  all  the 
saints  who  prepared  the  way  for  his  coming.  Grad- 
ually the  power  of  love  did  thus  assimilate  humanity 
to  itself,  and  the  men  who  took  part  in  this  blessed  prepa- 
ration were  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  designated 
by  the  name  of  "  sons  of  God  :  "  they  represent  the  divine 
^seed.  The  full  development  of  this  seed  was  not  wit- 
nessed on  the,  first  day.  Four  thousand  years  of  con- 
flict were  necessary,  because  there  was  a  constant  and 
hostile  development  of  the  seed  of  the  serpent, — that  is 
to  say,  of  Satanic  humanity,  —  which  sought  incessantly 
to  stifle  the  divine  seed.  It  would  be  ungrateful  to 
overlook  those  contests,  the  labor  of  so  many  centu- 
ries in  preparing  the  cradle  of  Jesus  Christ.  There 
needed  to  have  been  many  sons  of  God  like  those 
spoken-of  in  Genesis,  before  the  only  Son  of  God  should 
be  born, — he  in  whom  dwelleth  the  fullness  of  the  God- 
head bodily, — before  it  could  be  said.  Unto  us  a  child 
is  horn;  the  child  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  the  child 
of  our  prayers,  our  tears,  and  our  desires,  the  divine 
seed  deposited  in  us  by  his  Spirit  ! 

It  is  this  preparation,  this  slow  introduction  into  the 
world  of  the  posterity  of  the  woman,  which  we  would 
invite  you  to  contemplate  whilst  we  sketch  its  history 


THE   FALL   AND    THE  PROMISE.  33 

in  its  great  outlines.  Such  will  be  the  object  of  the 
discussion  upon  winch  we  have  entered.  We  shall  see 
the  conflict  between  the  two  powers,  of  which  we  spoke 
at  the  beginning,  gathering  a  new  degree  of  energy. 
It  is  no  longer  merely  a  contest  between  good  and  evil  ; 
the  combat  bears  upon  the  coming  of  the  Saviour  ;  the 
seed  of  Satan  strives  to  stifle  in  its  blessed  germ  the 
salvation  of  the  race  of  man.  The  posterity  of  the 
woman  preserves  it,  and  develops  it  under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Spirit  of  God  until  the  day  when,  having 
reached  its  maturity,  through  the  incarnation,  the  tri- 
umph of  the  power  of  love  is  consummated.  We  shall 
see  the  power  of  perdition  following  a  parallel  devel- 
opment, and,  on  the  day  of  God's  complete  assimila- 
tion of  humanity,  assimilating  to  itself  more  fully  re- 
bellious humanity,  to  such  an  extent  that  Satan  ap- 
pears to  be  personally  and  directly  taking  part  in  the 
contest.  Thus  in  very  truth  has  our  text  given  us  the 
theme  which  history  has  only  developed.  The  great 
and  universal  conflict  is  indicated  in  these  words  :  I 
will  put  enmity  hetiueen  thy  seed  and  the  seed  of  the  ivo- 
man.  The  final  triumph  shines  out  from  the  first: 
The  posterity  of  the  tvoman  shall  crush  thy  head.  The 
conditions  of  this  triumph  are  summed  up  in  the 
words,  Thou  shalt  wound  his  heel.  In  suffering  he 
prepares  himself.  In  a  great  sacrifice  he  completes 
the  work.  The  champions  in  this  conflict  are  on  both 
sides  men.  God  in  humanity,  imparting  himself  wholly 
unto  it  in  the  person  of  his  Son,  —  the  divine  posterity 
of  the  woman,  —  shall  crush  Satan,  who  is  also  present 
in  humanity.  Such  is  the  majestic  plan  which  is  un- 
rolled before  us  in  the  text.     May  I  have  succeeded  in 


34  THE   REDEEMElî. 

filling  you  with  the  admiration  which  it  has  awakened 
within  me  ! 

But  it  is  not  admiration  of  God's  plan  that  I  par- 
ticularly ask  for  at  the  close  of  this  discourse.  I  de- 
sire to  leave  you  under  a  more  serious  impression. 
Have  you  remarked  the  opposition  established  in  our 
text  between  the  seed  of  the  serpent  and  the  posterity 
of  the  woman  ?  Apparently,  it  aims  to  declare  that 
those  who  serve  the  serpent  do  not  really  continue  to 
form  a  part  of  humanity.  The  true  humanity  —  the 
posterity  of  the  woman  —  is  the  divine  humanity,  that 
which  fights  on  the  side  of  God.  It  alone,  first,  re- 
sponds to  the  true  idea  of  humanity,  such  as  it  exists 
in  the  thought  of  the  Creator.  Moreover,  it  alone  pro- 
motes the  interests  of  the  fallen  race.  You  who  have 
joined  yourselves  to  man's  enemy  and  murderer,  you 
who  act  as  his  accomplices  in  order  to  complete  the  ruin 
of  the  race,  are  justly  denied  by  humanity.  You  are  not 
the  posterity  of  the  woman  ;  you  are  the  seed  of  the 
serpent.  You  seem  to  espouse  man's  cause  with  ardor  ; 
you  have  always  his  name  on  your  lips  ;  you  speak  to 
him  of  his  dignity,  his  greatness,  and  also,  at  times,  of 
his  divinity.  Such  was  the  language  of  the  serpent 
on  the  day  of  the  Fall.  Flatterers  of  human  pride, 
from  him  you  borrow  his  poisonous  words.  I  know  no 
condemnation  of  you  more  severe  than  the  simple 
words  of  my  text,  which  show  you  so  far  assimilated 
to  the  power  of  perdition  that  you  are  no  longer  mem- 
bers of  humanity,  but  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  The 
true  humanity,  the  true  seed  of  the  woman,  we  find  in 
those  who  speak  rather  of  fall  than  of  greatness,  rath- 
er of  our  wretchedness  than  of  our  dignity.    They  hold  a 


THE   FALL   AND    THE   PROMISE.  35 

language  opposed  to  that  of  the  serpent  ;  they  are  the 
posterity  of  the  woman  because  they  are  the  children 
of  God,  and  since,  as  the  apostle  has  said,  humanity 
is  in  its  essence  the  offspring  of  God.  The  nearer  it 
is  brought  to  God  by  humility,  the  more  completely  is 
it  allowed  to  realize  its  high  destinies.  You,  then,  who 
have  imagined  you  could  serve  it  without  the  pale  of 
the  religion  of  the  humble,  undeceive  yourselves.  You 
have  fought  against  its  higher  interests.  You  have 
served  the  power  of  perdition.  Remember  that  you 
are  not  envassaled  to  it  by  nature,  that  one  movement 
of  faith  and  humility  suffices  to  transfer  you  into  the 
camp  of  God.  \yhat  wretchedness  for  you  if,  with 
generous  ideas,  and  a  sincere  desire  to  cause  the  hap- 
piness of  your  fellows,  it  should  prove  at  last  that  you 
had  lent  assistance  to  their  greatest  enemy  !  He  is  not 
only  a  murderer,  he  is  a  liar.  He  has  taken  you,  per- 
haps, on  the  side  of  your  noble  impulses.  Ah  !  while 
it  is  yet  time,  in  tlie  name  of  the  well-being  of  your 
brothers,  in  the  name  of  your  salvation,  take  sides  with 
God  in  this  great  and  solemn  contest.  It  is  taking 
man's  side.  Their  two  causes  are  one.  How  should  not 
the  interests  of  eternal  love  be  those  of  fallen  man  ? 
We  all,  whoever  we  may  be,  are  also  taking  sides.  God's 
word  shows  us  but  two  camps.  There  is  no  interme- 
diate position.  We  must  be  in  very  truth  a  seed  of  the 
serpent,  or  in  very  truth  labor  to  crush  his  head  with 
the  posterity  of  the  woman.  Christians,  you  do  not  hes- 
itate ;  you  have  already  choseii  your  chief.  But  can- 
sider  well  that  to  sustain  this  formidable  conflict,  all 
your  strength  and  all  your  time  are  not  too  much. 
Take  all  which  you  have,  and  throw  it  into  the  current 


36  THE   REDEEMER. 

of  good.  Should  you  bring  tliither  but  your  drop  of 
water,  you  would  not  be  useless  ;  dread  above  all  to 
swell  by  a  single  word,  by  a  single  act,  the  current  of 
evil  which  is  rolling  its  waters  by  our  side.  Enough 
of  others  are  laboring  to  increase  the  wretchedness  of 
humanity.  Do  you  labor  for  its  salvation,  ever  mind- 
ful not  to  aid  the  old  serpent  in  his  work  of  death,  and 
ever  relying  upon  Him  who  has  already  gloriously  ful- 
filled the  promise  given  to  Adam,  and  who  is  ready  to 
fulfill  it  anew  for  each  one  of  us. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   PREPARATION   FOR   THE   COMING   OF 
JESUS   CHRIST. 


BEFORE      JUDAISM. 
"  In  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  —  Gen.  xii.  3. 

WE  have  already  seen  that  the  contest  everywhere 
waged  and  maintained  upon  the  earth,  in  the 
outer  as  in  the  inner  world,  is  at  bottom  the  great 
combat  between  the  power  of  love  and  the  power  of 
darkness.  We  know  in  advance,  that  God's  triumph 
is  secured  at  the  cost  of  inexpressible  sufferings.  It 
will  be  the  more  decisive  from  having  been  the  more 
disputed.  We  know,  also,  that  it  will  be  gained  by  hu- 
manity, but  by  humanity  fully  assimilated  to  God  ;  in 
other  words,  by  the  God-man,  the  blessed  seed  of  the 
woman,  crushing  the  head  of  the  serpent.  To-day  I 
have  to  set  before  you  the  preparatory  work  by  which 
that  great  victory  of  the  power  of  love  was  slowly  won. 
Our  text  recalls  to  our  minds  its  most  characteristic 
feature.     To  Abraham  it  was  said  that  all  the  families 

4  37 


38  THE   REDEEMER. 

of  the  earth  should  be  blessed  in  his  posterity.  In 
these  words  the  election  by  God  of  a  peculiar  people  is 
recorded.  But  tliis  election  is  the  most  important  fact 
in  the  preparatory  period.  Perhaps  you  find  a  certain 
difficulty  in  understanding  how  the  promise  made  to 
Abraham  is  reconciled  with  the  promise  to  Adam.  Is 
there  not  here  a  restriction  of  the  promise  given  in 
Eden  ?  The  latter  spoke  of  the  posterity  of  the  woman, 
and  now  tliere  is  reference  made  only  to  the  seed  of 
Abraham.  How  reconcile  these  two  sayings  which  are 
alike  pronounced  by  God  ?  We  shall  have  to  resolve 
this  difficult  and  important  question.  We  will  show 
you  that  the  second  promise  contributes  to  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  first,  and  that  the  election  of  a  people  of 
God  was  an  effectual  means  of  preparing  for  the  com- 
ing of  the  Saviour.  The  old  covenant  has  no  other 
end  than  to  hasten  the  full  accomplishment  of  the  plan 
of  salvation.  It  is  destined  to  prepare  humanity  for 
that  by  its  successive  revelations.  This  view  is  the  only 
key  to  the  Old  Testament.  How  often  has  it  not  been 
a  stone  of  stumbling  for  men  who  accepted  joyfully  the 
gospel  revelation  !  Whence  came  their  astonishment, 
which  was  accompanied  with  more  or  less  of  scandal  ? 
From  the  differences  which  they  indicated  between  the 
two  Testaments.  But  are  not  such  differences  perfectly 
natural  and  comprehensible,  as  soon  as  it  is  admitted 
that  the  Old  Testament  speaks  to  us  of  the  preparation 
for  salvation,  whilst  the  New  Testament  speaks  of  its 
realization  ?  There  is  no  occasion  for  surprise  if  the 
first  rounds  of  the  ladder  which  binds  earth  anew  to 
heaven  are  nearer  to  the  earth  than  the  upper  rounds 
which  reach  forth  into  the  light  of  heaven  itself.     Are 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  o9 

they  not  admirably  suited  to  the  weakness  of  the  hu- 
man creature  ?  To  complain  of  finding  less  spirituality 
in  the  Old  Testament  than  in  the  New,  in  the  first  pages 
of  the  Bible  than  in  the  last,  is  to  complain  that  our 
heavenly  Father  has  spoken  in.  an  intelligible  manner 
to  man  in  the  childhood  of  the  race.  When  we  take 
as  our  vantage  ground  of  observation  the  work  prepar- 
atory to  salvation,  we  perceive  that  the  education  of 
the  race,  like  that  of  the  individual,  has  been  progres- 
sive, and  that  God's  revelations  are  not  to  be  regarded 
in  the  gross,  but  in  their  succession  and  their  connec- 
tion. There  has  been  a  development,  a  history  of 
revelation.  The  form,  though  sometimes  strange,  in 
which  its  teachings  are  clothed,  instead  of  offending 
us,  ought  to  touch  us  as  we  are  touched  by  the  sight 
of  a  father  who  stoops  in  order  to  raise  up  to  himself 
his  new-born  child. 

This  point  of  view  regarding  the  Old  Testament  im- 
parts to  it  the  most  beautiful  and  the  richest  unity. 
Jesus  Christ  is  the  substance  of  every  recital,  of  every 
page.  He  is  the  point  toward  which  all  things  aspire. 
There  is  not  one  institution  which  does  not  tend 
toward  him.  As  expressed  in  his  own  words,  it  is  his 
day  which  rises,  at  first  almost  imperceptibly,  like  the 
white  light  of  early  dawn,  then  shining  more  and  more. 
He  who  knows  not  that  the  day  is  beginning  to  break 
in  those  few  rays,  gives  them  no  earnest  heed  ;  but 
what  admiration  fills  the  heart  of  him  who  from  the 
first  pages  of  the  holy  Book  looks  upon  the  rising  of 
the  day-star  from  on  high  !  If,  in  the  reflections  which 
we  are  about  to  present  you,  we  could  contribute 
to  lift  the  vail  that  hides  Moses,  not  only  from  the 


40  TRE  REDEEMER, 

Jews,  but  also  from  a  great  number  of  Christians,  we 
should  believe  ourselves  to  be  laboring  profitably  for 
your  edification,  and  for  the  glory  of  our  God. 

In  what  should  the  work  of  preparation  consist? 
Let  us  clear  up  this  point  before  every  other  ;  it  is  our 
only  method  of  comprehending  the  object  and  the 
scope  of  the  election  of  a  special  people.  We  have  al- 
ready perceived  that  the  Saviour  was  to  be  not  only 
the  Son  of  God,  but  also  the  son  of  man  ;  that  he  was 
to  represent  God  to  humanity,  and  humanity  to  God. 
By  this  is  not  merely  meant  that  he  was  to  assume  a 
body  resembling  ours.  It  was  needful  that,  being  the 
Son  of  God  Most  Holy,  he  should  be  morally  the  son 
of  man.  In  what  sense  must  these  words  be  taken  ? 
Is  humanity  to  be  summoned  to  produce  a  Saviour  by 
its  own  strength  ?  No,  my  brethren  ;  and  herein  lies 
the  great  error  of  human  religions  and  philosophies.  To 
produce  the  Saviour,  that  is  to  say,  to  save  one's  self; 
to  save  one's  self  by  unfolding  the  faculties  of  man, — such 
is  the  pretension  of  pride.  It  is  an  impious  and  foolish 
pretension,  which  consists  in  seeking  salvation  in  perdi- 
tion itself,  and  in  applying  for  the  remedy  to  the  poi- 
son which  must  be  subdued.  We  declare  most  ear- 
nestly that,  abandoned  to  his  own  resources,  man  can 
produce  nothing.  We  are  in  error  ;  the  apostle  James 
teaches  ns  what  he  derives  from  himself:  "  When  lust 
hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin  ;  and  sin,  when  it  is 
finished,  bringeth  forth  death."  James  i.  15.  Death, — 
death  in  all  its  senses, —  such  is  the  product  which  hu- 
manity, surrendered  to  itself,  draws  from  within,  since 
the  Fall.  The  question,  then,  is  not  for  it  to  produce 
the  Saviour.     The  Saviour  can  only  bo  a  free  gift  of 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF  CHRIST.  41 

God.  The  promise  could  be  accomplished  only  by 
Him  who  made  it.  But  we  must  not  fall  into  the  op- 
posite extreme  from  that  which  we  have  just  com- 
bated. And  it  would  be  falling  into  this  error  to 
bring  down  the  Saviour  suddenly  from  heaven,  and  to 
transform  the  greatest  of  all  events  into  an  abrupt  in- 
cident, having  no  connection  with  that  which  precedes  ; 
it  would  be  falling  into  this  error  not  to  admit  the  hu- 
man filiation  of  Him  who  was  called  "  the  seed  of  the 
woman."  We  know  to  what  this  filiation  is  reducible. 
To  affirm  that  man  is  incapable  of  producing  the  Sa- 
viour is  to  affirm  that  he  has  no  creative  part  in  the 
bringing  forth  of  the  woman's  divine  posterity  ;  he  has 
only  to  receive  the  gift  of  God.  It  is  the  Creator's 
part  to  give,  and  this  part  his  free  love  has  led  Ifim 
willingly  to  choose.  He  is,  as  the  apostle  has  said, 
the  author  of  every  gift  ;  it  is  the  creature's  part  to  re- 
ceive. The  Creator  gives,  the  creature  receives  Ms 
gifts  ;  such  is  the  normal  order.  That  which  is  true 
with  regard  to  the  different  gifts  of  divine  love  is  true 
with  respect  to  its  supreme  gift, — ^the  gift  of  a  Saviour. 
Humanity  has  only  to  receive  the  Saviour,  but  it  is 
necessary  that  humanity  do  in  fact  receive  him. 

God  has  eternally  begotten  his  Son  ;  but  in  order 
that  the  Eternal  Son  become  the  posterity  of  the  wo- 
man,— the  son  of  humanity, — it  was  needful  that  God 
should  find  in  it  the  dispositions  requisite  in  order  to 
its  assimilation  of  the  celestial  gift,  —  the  divine  seed. 
The  miraculous  conception  of  Jesus  Christ  is  for  us 
the  most  positive  of  realities.  We  take  good  heed  not 
to  convert  into  symbols  the  facts  of  the  gospel  history  ; 
yet  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  the  great  fact  of  whicli 

4* 


42  THE   REDEEMER. 

VTQ  are  speaking  is  also  a  sublime  type.  It  represents 
to  us,  in  their  reciprocal  relations,  God's  part  and  man's 
part  with  respect  to  the  coming  of  our  Saviour, — God 
who  gives,  humanity  that  receives,  that  assimilates. 
The  outward  miracle  discloses  an  inward  miracle  ;  and 
this  latter  has  cost -more,  if  we  may  dare  to  speak 
thus,  than  the  former.  It  needed  but  a  fleeting  mo- 
ment for  the  conception  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  womb 
of  the  virgin  ;  it  needed  four  thousand  years  for  the 
soul  of  man  to  be  formed  by  the  virtue  of  the  same 
Spirit  to  receive  the  Saviour.  The  material  world  is 
a  thousand  times  more  rapidly  transformed  than  the 
spiritual  world,  because  the  will  is  not  changed  like 
matter,  but  must  be  persuaded  and  won  over.  It  would 
be  impoverishing  the  work  of  our  salvation  absolutely 
to  isolate  the  work  of  the  incarnation.  Without  the 
incarnation,  the  preparatory  work  would  be  useless  ; 
but,  also,  without  tlie  preparatory  work  the  incarnation 
would  be  only  an  outward  fact,  a  miracle  in  space. 
The  proof  of  this  is  in  the  postponement  of  the  birth 
of  Jesus  Christ.  The  hour  for  the  external  miracle 
struck  in  the  heart  of  man. 

To  whom  shall  this  double  miracle  be  attributed  ? 
To  whom,  if  not  to  God  ?  God  not  only  gives  the  Sa- 
viour', but  he  gives  the  receptivity  ;  not  only  is  he  the 
author  of  every  gift,  but,  further,  he  purifies,  he  de- 
velops the  human  soul  ;  without  ever  annihilating  its 
liberty,  he  inclines  it  toward  himself.  We  may,  there- 
fore, repeat,  with  the  apostle,  addressing  humanity, 
"  What  hast  thou  which  thou  hast  not  received  ?  and  if 
thou  hast  received  it,  why  dost  thou  boast  thyself  there- 
of? "   And  when  I  speak  of  humanity,  you  are  not  to  for- 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  43 

get  that  we  have  distmguished  two  humanities, — a  Sa- 
tanic humanity,  which  became  willingly  the  seed  of  the 
serpent,  and  the  humanity  conformed  unto  God,  which 
responds  to  his  love.  This  latter  is  always  the  minor- 
ity. Sometimes  it  is  reduced  to  one  family,  to  a  few 
chosen  persons.  It  matters  little.  It  is  the  humanity 
conformed  to  God,  that  which  accomplishes  his  plans, 
and  from  it,  in  every  sense,  shall  be  born  the  Saviour. 
We  are  now  in  a  position  to  determine  with  accu- 
racy the  nature  of  the  preparatory  work.  On  God's 
part,  it  consisted  in  developing  within  man  such  dispo- 
sitions as  were  favorable  for  the  reception  of  his  gifts, 
and,  above  all,  the  greatest  of  his  gifts,  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.  If  you  ask  what  are  the  dispositions  which 
it  is  important  to  develop,  I  shall  appeal  to  your  experi- 
ence. When  are  you  most  inclined  to  accept  a  gift  of 
whatever  kind  ?  Is  it  not  when  you  have  desired  it 
previously  ?  If  youv  do  not  desire  it,  you  either  receive 
it  with. indifference,  or  you  refuse  it.  But  if  you  have 
long  sighed  after  this  or  that  good,  if  the  expectation 
has  inflamed  your  desire,  when  this  good  is  offered  to 
you,  with  what  ardor  do  you  then  seize  it,  with  what  joy 
do  you  gain  possession  of  it  !  Thus,  then,  humanity  will 
be  prepared  to  receive  the  Saviour  according  to  the 
degree  in  which  the  desire  for  the  Saviour  has  been 
enkindled  in  the  heart.  If  it  desires  the  Saviour  but 
feebly,  or  at  least  only  in  a  vague  and  general  manner, 
it  will  not  be  inclined  to  appropriate  him  to  itself.  He 
would  remain  a  stranger  to  it  ;  he  would  be  as  if  ex- 
ternal to  it,  should  he  appear  daring  the  period  when 
desire  languishes.  When  the  desire  shall  be  at  once 
more  precise  and  more  lively,  humanity  will  he  better 


44  THE  REDEEMER. 

disposed  to  seize,  to  embrace  the  Saviour  as  its  treas- 
ure, and  to  become  incorporated  with  him.  But  when 
this  desire  shall  have  reached  its  full  intensity,  when 
humanity  shall  feel  that  it  can  no  longer  do  without 
the  Saviour,  when  she  shall  call  upon  him  with  all  her 
voices,  and  with  all  her  tears,  then,  if  he  appears,  she 
will  cry  out  :  ''By  this  do  I  hioiv  Mm  :  he  is  flesh 
of  my  fleshy  hone  of  my  hone^^  the  soul  of  my  soul.  Hu- 
manity will  closely  unite  herself  to  him.  He  will  be 
hers,  as  she  will  be  his.  He  will  be  truly  the  son  of 
man;  consequently,  to  enkindle,  to  cherish,  and  to  de- 
velop this  holy  desire  for  the  Saviour,  comprehends  the 
entire  work  of  divine  preparation. 

But  let  us  enter  further  into  this  thought,  which  is 
the  fundamental  thought  of  this  discourse,  and  which 
seems  to  us  to  throw  a  vivid  light  upon  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  more  closely  we  shall  consider  it,  the  more 
luminous  will  it  appear  to  our  minds.  Since  the  work 
of  preparation  consists  in  developing  the  faculty  recep- 
tive of  the  gifts  of  God, — that  is  to  say,  the  desire  for 
salvation, — what  is  the  best  method  of  developing  this 
desire  ?  I  appeal  to  you,  brethren,  for  I  do  not  wish  to 
lose  myself  in  vain  reasonings.  I  wish  to  found  every- 
thing upon  experience.  In  each  one  of  our  desires, 
whatever  be  the  particular  object  to  which  it  is  directed, 
I  discover  two  sentiments  :  first,  a  feeling  of  want,  of 
suffering.  We  desire  a  good  because  we  feel  that  it  is 
wanting  to  us,  that  it  is  wanting  to  our  happiness  ;  if 
we  had  all  that  is  needful  to  us,  if  our  felicity  were  ab- 
solute, it  is  evident  that  we  should  have  no  desires  to 
form.  Every  desire  is  accompanied  with  a  sigh.  Fur- 
thermore, a  degree  of  hope  is  mingled  with  this.     If 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST.  45 

we  had  not  the  thought  that  the  desired  good  could  be 
accorded  to  us,  our  desires  would  be  stifled  in  the  germ, 
or,  rathej-,  they  would  return  upon  us,  finding  nothing 
to  devour  but  our  own  hearts.  Desires  not  sustained 
by  the  breath  of  hope  fall  back  to  the  earth.  An  im- 
possible desire  ought  not  to  be  called  desire,  but  de- 
spair. Thus  the  sting  of  suffering  awakens  desire,  the 
wing  of  hope  bears  it  up.  Suffering  and  hope  are  the 
two  elements  fused  together  in  each  one  of  our  de- 
sires. We  shall  recognize  them  both  in  the  desire  for 
a  Saviour.  Man  will  call  upon  the  great  Deliverer  only 
when  he  shall  have  bitterly  felt  the  emptiness  of  a  life 
without  God.  He  will  not  lift  his  eyes  toward  heaven 
until  he  have  the  hope  of  seeing  one  day  the  heavens 
opening  to  give  a  Redeemer  to  the  earth.  To  say  that 
God  wishes  to  develop  the  desire  for  salvation  in  hu- 
manity, is  to  say  that  he  wishes  to  develop  both  this 
great  sorrow  on  account  of  condemnation  and  this  great 
hope  of  deliverance.  You  will  see  all  the  revelations 
of  the  old  covenant  tending  to  this  twofold  consumma- 
tion ;  with  one  hand  God  smites  the  rebellious  race, 
he  smites  it  with  redoubled  and  fearful  strokes  ;  and 
with  the  other  hand  he  lifts  it  up,  to  point  out  the  end 
to  which  it  is  approaching,  yet  only  by  repeated  falls 
and  repeated  humiliations.  Each  new  phase  of  reve- 
lation is  signalized  by  a  new  and  more  resonant  blow 
from  the  rod  of  condemnation,  and  by  a  more  radiant 
gleam  over  the  promised  future.  The  last  phase  will 
exhibit  to  us  the  humiliation  of  humanity  carried  to 
the  extremity  of  shame,  and  to  the  most  terrible  pun- 
ishments, and  the  soaring,  also,  of  a  universal  and 
magnificent  hope.     And  if  so  many  phases  succeed  one 


46  THE   REDEEMER. 

another,  if  so  many  generations  appear  before  the  com- 
ing of  the  blessed  generation  to  which  the  Saviour 
shall  belong,  be  not  surprised.  God  is  not  alone  in  work- 
ing. The  enemy  works  against  him,  scattering  tares  in 
the  field  where  the  good  seed  is  scarcely  sown.  The 
enemy  is  at  work  with  the  aid  of  a  multitude  of  men 
who  have  gone  astray.  To  every  new  manifestation  of 
celestial  love  there  is  a  corresponding  exhibition  of 
hellish  hate.  Hence  that  seemingly  interminable  suc- 
cession of  revelations  supplementing  those  that  have 
gone  before.  Every  time  that  Satan  and  his  servants 
strive  to  overthrow  God's  plan,  that  plan  enlarges,  and 
some  new  wonder  comes  forth  from  its  treasures.  Far 
from  being  scandalized  on  account  of  the  numberless 
ages  preceding  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  praise  the 
loving  kindness  of  your  God  ;  acknowledge  the  un- 
wearied goodness  which  he  has  shown  in  your  own  case, 
in  waiting  for  you  during  so  man'y  years,  notwithstand- 
your  revolt  and  your  disdain.  Do  not  complain  that 
we  are  detaining  you  on  the  threshold  of  the  gos- 
pel history,  whilst  we  unfold  to  you  the  preparatory 
work.  God,  the  great  God  of  heaven,  remained  there 
himself  for  more  than  forty  centuries,  knocking  at  the 
door  of  man's  heart.  That  slowness  which  you  blame 
is  perhaps  the  slowness  of  his  wrath  to  burst  forth  upon 
you.  0  patience  of  my  God,  thou  are  not  the  least 
wonderful,  the  least  touching  of  his  compassions  ! 

Let  us  now  trace  the  picture  of  the  work  of  prepara- 
tion in  its  great  outlines.  That  work  is  twofold.  God 
developed  the  desire  of  salvation  by  events,  and  by  rev- 
elations which  he  granted  to  those  who  promoted  his 
designs.     We  have  to  show  how  these  events  and  these 


'  PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  47 

revelations  have  gradually  augmented  the  sorrow  for 
condemnation  and  the  hope  of  deliverance,  up  to  the 
time  when  these  two  feelings  became  blended  together 
in  the  positive  expectation  of  the  Saviour.  To-day  we 
shall  occupy  ourselves  with  only  the  first  phases  of  rev- 
elation. 

Let  us  begin  by  considering  the  situation  of  man 
after  he  had  received  the  promise  of  pardon.  You  will 
admit  with  us  that  here  God's  plan  received  a  first  ful- 
fillment. And  as  the  essential  traits  of  this  situation 
are  found  again  to-day  in  every  human  life,  you  will 
have  occasion  to  bless  in  your  own  name  the  compas- 
sionate hand  of  the  Lord  for  those  general  dispensa- 
tions of  his  love,  common  to  all  men,  which  too  often 
escape  our  attention. 

Behold  this  divine  love,  above  all,  in  the  abode 
of  fallen  man.  We  may  say  of  the  outward  world 
what  the  Psalmist  said  of  the  starry  sky  :  there  is  no 
speech  and  no  language  in  it,  and  yet  its  voice  is 
heard.  That  voice  brings  to  us  a  word  of  condemna- 
tion and  a  promise  of  pardon  ;  gathered  up  by  the 
faithful  heart,  it  forms  within  it  a  sigh  of  longing  for 
Christ.  Oh  !  I  know  well  that  it  is  only  too  seldom 
heard  ;  I  know  well  that  when  surrendered  to  its  in- 
spiration, man  forces  nature  to  speak  in  accordance 
with  his  corruption,  that  he  seeks  at  her  hands  a 
guilty  intoxication,  and  that  he  willingly  suffers  him- 
self to  be  fascinated  by  her.  Nothing  is  more  danger- 
ous than  this  soft  contemplation  of  the  outward  world, 
which  enervates  the  soul  and  bears  it  out  of  itself. 

There  are  two  methods  of  converting  into  poison 
the  noble  enjoyment  of  nature.     The  first  is  to  allow 


48  THE  REDEEMER. 

one's  self  to  be  dominated  by  her,  to  lose  one's  self  in 
nature  ;  this  is  the  pantheist's  admiration  of  nature. 
He  deifies  and  adores  nature  ;  this  is  stark  idolatry, 
which  tears  us  away  from  ourselves.  There  is  an- 
other manner  of  loving  nature,  which,  though  directly 
opposite,  is  not  less  perfidious  ;  it  is  a  self-seeking 
admiration.  In  nature  the  individual  seeks  a  mirror 
of  his  own  sad  or  joyous  sentiments.  It  is  regarded 
as  a  vast  lyre  destined  to  give  back  the  slightest 
shades  of  his  feelings.  It  is  belittled  in  order  to  play 
this  paltry  part,  and  men  ask  from  it  the  refined  de- 
lights of  a  sickly  egotism.  In  the  literature  of  our 
day  you  find  constantly  this  double  wrong  which  sepa- 
rates man  from  God.  Thus  man  renders  nature  his 
accomplice  in  the  work  of  his  own  perdition.  Need 
we  say  that  this  is  not  the  part  which  God  assigned 
it?  When  we  derive  evil  impressions  from  nature, 
we  turn  against  us  a  grace  of  God.  God  speaks 
through  nature  ;  he  says  to  us  by  her  numberless 
voices,  "  Thou  hast  need  of  a  Saviour  ;  he  is  not  afar 
off."  Nature  is  a  witness  that  deposes  in  favor  of  the 
truth.  We  have  not  the  right  to  deprive  ourselves  of 
her  testimony.  Given  beneath  every  sky,  but  also 
constantly  perverted  by  the  folly  of  man,  it  is  very 
important  that  we  should  penetrate  its  true  and  divine 
import. 

Do  not  fear  lest  we  give  ourselves  the  easy  satis- 
faction of  accumulating  poetical  descriptions.  A 
poetical  interest  is  not  involved  ;  the  question  con- 
cerns truth  and  salvation.  What  did  the  first  man, 
when  driven  from  Eden,  perceive  in  the  outward 
world?     He  saw  there  as  if  a  confirmation  of  his 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  49 

own  destiny  ;  lie  could  read  it  in  the  vast  book  of 
nature.  His  destiny  was  twofold  ;  the  curse  weighed 
upon  him,  lightened  by  the  promise  of  pardon.  Was 
not  the  curse  inscribed  around  him  in  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  earth,  upturned,  made  desolate,  become 
niggardly  in  grain,  and  fruitful  in  thorns  ?  Did  he 
not  behold  it  sadly  fulfilled  in  that  power  of  de- 
struction which  made  trial  of  itself  upon  animals 
before  assailing  him  ?  Did  he  not  hear  it  thunder 
with  the  tempest  in  the  air  ?  Did  not  all  the  fright- 
ful spectacles  which  the  earth  contains  cry  out  to 
him  with  one  voice,  "  Thou  art  condemned,  thou  hast 
sinned  "  ?  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  sovereign 
beauty  that  remains  upon  our  poor  earth,  the  harmony, 
the  grandeur,  those  marvelous  days  which  each  year 
holds  in  reserve,  the  enchanting  sites,  sublime  or 
graceful,  —  all  these  recollections  of  the  ancient  earth, 
did  they  not  speak  to  him  of  divine  love  ?  Do  they 
not  to-day  still  say  to  man,  "  Fear  not,  poor  fallen 
creature  ;  thou  art  not  forsaken  ;  there  is  hope  "  ? 

Thou  hast  sinned  ;  nevertheless,  hope.  These  are 
the  two  words  which  are  heard  above  the  vast  groan- 
ing of  nature.  But  these  two  words  are  two  echoes 
of  revelation.  Let  no  one  tell  us,  then,  that  nature 
is  deistical,  and  speaks  only  of  the  Creator.  She 
speaks,  also,  of  the  Saviour.  For  that  reason  has  he 
borrowed  from  her  so  many  parables  and  teachings. 
All  creatures,  says  the  apostle,  groan  until  now,  wait- 
ing for  the  deliverance  of  the  children  of  God.  This 
longing,  this  desire  for  salvation,  exists  in  unintelli- 
gent nature  only  in  order,  through  her,  to  gain  entrance 
to  our  hearts  ;   therefore  nature  also  concurs  in  the 

5 


50  THE  REDEEMER. 

great  work  of  preparation,  the  entire  scope  and  aim 
of  which  is  to  develop  the  desire  for  salvation  in 
man.  Let  him  not  remain  deaf  to  this  universal 
sighing  ;  and  may  he  discern  in  the  very  aspect  of 
the  earth  an  invitation  to  turn  himself  unto  God  the 
Saviour  !  Thus  will  he  find  the  blessing  there,  even 
where  he  had  encountered  temptation  alone. 

If  the  outward  world  speaks  to  man  of  sin  and  of 
forgiveness,  much  more  does  his  whole  being  speak 
of  it.  In  the  external  world  of  humanity  there  are 
two  facts  which  convey  to  us  the  twofold  utterance 
which  we  have  heard  from  the  voice  of  nature.  The 
first  of  these  facts  is  death.  What  a  preacher  of  the 
righteousness  of  God  !  How  its  fearful  eloquence  is 
suited  to  impress  us  with  our  condemnation  !  It 
is  ever  traversing  our  streets  and  our  dwellings,  re- 
peating anew  the  first  sentence  over  the  inanimate 
remains  of  our  neighbors,  giving  the  most  striking 
denial  to  all  the  lies  of  the  tempter  ;  and  yet,  in  the 
presence  of  such  crushing  evidence,  we  yield  to  the 
suggestions  of  the  spirit  of  pride.  Yes,  to-day,  even, 
there  are  men  who  wish  to  be  as  gods,  and  allow 
themselves  to  be  taken  by  the  same  words  which  se- 
duced the  first  man.  We  can  conceive  the  possibility 
of  illusion  before  death  came  ;  but  to  believe  to-day 
that  one  can  succeed  in  this  impious  attempt  at 
equality  with  God,  is  madness.  Man  equal  with  God  ! 
But  hast  not  thou  seen  thy  pretended  god,  such  as 
death  has  made  him  to  be  for  thee  ?  Hast  thou  not 
seen  him  motionless,  at  first  speechless,  then  dust  and 
ashes,  the  image  of  helplessness  and  of  corruption  ? 
Who  of  you  has  not  beheld  this  doleful  spectacle  of 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING   OF  CHRIST.  51 

the  annihilation  of  all  the  hopes  of  human  pride? 
To  lis  Christians,  death  appears  only  softened  and 
adorned.  Through  Jesus  Christ,  death  possesses 
something  of  an  angelic  character  ;  but  let  us  not 
forget  what  it  was  at  the  first.  Let  us  not  cease  to 
see  in  it  the  greatest  of  humiliations,  the  reply  of  the 
Creator  to  the  creature's  insolent  defiance.  Let  it 
remain  the  king  of  terrors  for  whoever  is  not  in 
Christ.  Let  us  protest  against  this  tendency  of  hu- 
man philosophy  which  places  its  reasonings  at  the 
service  of  worldly  frivolity,  and  which  sees  in  death  a 
natural  fact  to  which  the  race  must  become  accus- 
tomed. Let  us  say  boldly,  it  is  a  fearful  thing  against 
nature,  that  the  immortal  creature  should  be  obliged 
to  die  ;  that  it  is  a  subversion  of  his  destiny.  Let 
death  in  this  manner  unroll  before  our  eyes  the  con- 
demnation in  all  its  results,  and  let  it  cause  us  to  go 
back  to  the  sin  of  which  it  was  begotten.  Then  it 
will  fulfill  its  mission,  and  lead  us,  through  sorrow  and 
fear,  to  seek  for  deliverance. 

This  word  of  love  and  hope,  by  whom  shall  it  be 
brought  to  us,  my  brethren  ?  for  we  have  need  of  it. 
The  feeling  of  condemnation  ought  to  be  tempered  by 
a  gentle  hope.  The  word  of  love  sounds  forth  with  the 
first  cry  of  every  new-born  babe.  What  (Joes  that  teach 
us,  if  not  that  humanity  is  not  a  race  irrevocably  de- 
voted to  the  power  of  death  and  destruction  ?  If  the 
condemnation  were  absolute,  it  is  evident  that  there 
would  not  be  a  succession  of  generations  upon  the  ac- 
cursed earth.  Can  we  imagine  the  God  of  love  multiply- 
ing beings  devoted  in  advance  to  perdition,  and  coming 
out  of  non-existence  only  to  enter  into  hell-  ?   Will  there 


52  THE   REDEEMER. 

be  births  in  the  realm  of  the  second  death  ?  Have  de- 
mons a  posterity  ?  From  the  fact  that  God  permits 
the  multiplication  of  the  human  family,  we  may  con- 
clude that  he  wishes  to  save  it,  that  he  wishes  to  em- 
ploy it  in  this  merciful  work.  Thus  every  new-born 
child  is  a  witness  of  his  love.  Before  Christ  came  he 
brought  to  mind  the  promise  of  the  divine  child  who  was 
to  be  born  for  the  deliverance  of  humanity.  Since  the 
coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  recalls  the  fulfillment  of  the 
great  prophecy.  We  can  take  in  this  sense,  also,  those 
words  of  Scripture,  "  Out  of  the  mouth  of  sucklings 
thou  hast  perfected  praise  ;  "  thou  seemest  to  say  to  us, 
through  them,  ''  The  child  is  born  to  you."  They  take 
us  back  to  the  manger  of  Bethlehem,  to  the  humble 
entrance  of  the  eternal  Son  into  our  poor  world. 

To  this  word  of  condemnation  and  of  love  which  has 
sounded  out  for  our  souls  in  the  two  most  striking  facts  of 
man's  outward  life, — birth  and  death, — you  could  be 
invited  to  listen  in  all  the  circumstances  of  his  life, 
in  that  blending  of  joys  and  sorrows,  of  good  and  evil 
things,  of  toils  and  triumphs,  which  form  its  universal 
fabric.  But  we  hasten  to  bid  you  hear  it  in  his  higher 
life.  There  contrasts  abound.  Beneath  the  marks  of 
corruption  are  found  the  traces  of  man's  lofty  origin .  To 
the  movements  of  egotism  succeeds  rapidly  some  gener- 
ous impulse.  To-day  his  heart  appears  buried  in  the 
dust  of  this  world  ;  to-morrow  he  will  be  tormented  with 
a  thirst  for  the  infinite.  This  is  because  his  moral  con- 
dition, subsequently  to  the  Fall,  is  not  a  simple  condi- 
tion. Sin  has  changed  all,  has  laid  waste  everything 
in  him,  but  has  not  absolutely  destroyed  his  primeval 
nature.     This  doctrine  is  conformable  to  the  teaching 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  53 

of  Scripture.  The  apostle  plainly  confesses  that  fall- 
en humanity  is  of  divine  origin.  Acts  17  :  29.  Let  us 
hasten  to  say  that  the  substance  of  the  soul  of  man 
is  not  on  this  account  less  corrupt,  that  he  can  offer 
to  God  no  acceptable  work,  and  that  of  himself  he  has 
no  hope  of  salvation.  Let  us  add  that  if  the  lamp, 
almost  extinguished,  still  smokes,  if  the  bruised  reed 
is  not  entirely  broken,  this  should  be  attributed  to 
the  grace  of  God,  to  that  sovereign  grace  whicli  on  the 
da,y  of  the  Fall  began  its  work  of  restoration.  The 
idea  that  after  the  first  sin  man  retains  no  longer  any 
vestige  of  his  origin,  that  he  is  not  only  dead  in  his 
sins  in  the  sense  that  he  has  no  part  in  salvation  be- 
fore his  conversion,  but  also  in  the  sense  that  he  lies 
in  an  absolute  moral  insensibility,  and  is  totally  hard- 
ened, deaf  as  a  stone  to  the  voice  of  God, — this  idea  is 
based  neither  on  the  Bible  nor  on  experience.  It  lim- 
its the  work  of  salvation  by  comprehending  it  within 
a  moment,  by  denying  the  operation  of  the  preparatory 
grace  which  works  upon  the  heart  of  every  man.  It 
makes ^of  this  a  mechanical  and  external  act.  It  ren- 
ders every  appeal  to  conscience  useless.  If  we  believe 
it,  we  are  doing  nothing  earnest  or  useful  in  entreat- 
ing the  sinner  to  be  converted.  Far  from  striking 
down  his  pride,  it  gives  him  fresh  confidence  by  depriv- 
ing him  of  all  responsibleness  for  his  unbelief.  On  the 
day  when  we  should  adopt  such  an  opinion,  my  breth- 
ren, we  frankly  avow  that  we  should  leave  this  pulpit 
for  ever,  preaching  having  become  a  superfluous  thing 
in  the  church.  And  have  the  kindness  to  remark 
that  we  blot  out  from  Holy  Scripture  no  one  of  the 
stern  sayings  by  which  it  paints  our  condition.     Yes, 

5* 


54  THE   REDEEMER. 

we  affirm  with  the  Word,  that  there  is  no  just  man, 
not  even  one  ;  that  we  have  drunk  iniquity  like  water; 
that  the  ox  knoweth  his  master's  crib,  and  we  have 
forgotten  our  God  ;  that  from  the  sole  of  the  foot  to 
the  crown  of  the  head  there  is  no  soundness  in  man. 

To  those  who  regard  this  picture  as  overcharged, 
we  say.  Open  your  eyes  and  see  ;  look  round  about 
you,  contemplate  all  the  shames,  all  the  outrages,  all 
the  cowardly  acts,  all  the  defilements  of  the  poor  race 
of  man, — shames  and  defilements  such  that  it  would  be 
already  committing  a  sin  to  depict  them.  Consider 
your  own  selves  ;  recollect  that  with  which  you  alone 
are  acquainted  ;  each  one  of  you  has  his  mysteries  of 
iniquity.  In  order  to  convince  you  of  your  debasement, 
I  need  not  your  worst  actions  ;  your  good  acts  suffice. 
You  know  what  their  motive  has  been  the  greater  part 
of  the  time,  and  how  largely,  whilst  men  were  ap- 
plauding you,  you  were  at  bottom  self-seeking  and 
self-interested.  I  do  not  even  need  your  acts  ;  I  ap- 
peal to  the  secret  of  your  hearts  and  of  your  thoughts. 
Not  one  of  you  would  consent  that  this  latter  basis  of 
your  being  should  be  disclosed  to  the  light  of  day.  The 
lust  of  the  eye,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  the  pride  of  life, 
have  penetrated  your  inner  life,  and  have  poisoned  it. 
Such  is  the  dark  side  of  your  inner  life.  With  respect 
to  the  other  side,  we  can  not  call  it  luminous  ;  it  is  too 
much  commingled  with  sin.  But,  nevertheless,  is  it 
not  true  that  there  exist  in  you  aspirations  toward 
something  better  than  this  fleeting  life,  the  need  of 
truth  and  of  peace,  and  also,  at  certain  moments,  a 
longing  for  God,  a  sighing  after  God,  or  at  least  a  mys- 
terious sadness,  without  appreciable  cause  ?    Are  there 


PnEPARATIOX  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  55 

not  other  chords  besides  that  of  self-interest  vibrating  in 
you  ?  If  these  are  relaxed  through  your  fault,  have 
you  notjidmired  in  other  men  acts  of  spontaneous  dé- 
votement, which  were  in  their  lives  like  a  lightning  flash 
from  heaven  ?  What  mean  these  contrasts  ?  You 
have  a  voice  of  God  within  you  which  explains  them, 
—  the  voice  of  that  conscience  which  is  one  of  the 
strongest  evidences  that  man,  although  fallen,  is  not 
absolutely  hardened.  What  is  declared  by  conscience, 
unless  it  be  our  fall  ?  "  Be  silent,"  it  says  to  your 
reasoning  thought,  when  it  desires  to  deny  the  Fall,  — 
"  be  silent.  Call  to  mind  what  thou  art  ;  not  the  self 
which  is  paraded  before  others,  but  thy  true  self,  thy 
inner  self.  Thou  art  under  the  stroke  of  condemna- 
tion ;  thou  knowest  it  well.  Thou  tremblest  for  this 
when  thou  art  alone  with  me."  Conscience  has  also 
more  consoling  words.  By  it  we  are  driven  toward 
God,  and  that  hope  of  salvation  is  given  us  which  has 
everywhere  impelled  humanity  to  seek  him.  Thus 
this  contrast,  this  disharmony  in  the  higher  life  of 
man,  brings  to  us  the  word  of  condemnation  and  the 
word  of  hope.  Our  thought  on  this  subject  may  be 
summ-ed  up  in  the  words  of  Pascal,  who  founded  his 
"  Apology  for  Christianity"  principally  on  the  strange 
oppositions  of  our  nature.  "  If  thou  liftest  up  thyself," 
he  said  to  man,  ''  I  abase  thee  ;  if  thou  abasest  thy- 
self, I  raise  thee."  If  thou  liftest  up  thyself,  I  abase 
thee  by  showing  thee  thy  corruption  and  thy  nothing- 
ness. If  thou  dost  abase  thyself  by  denying  thy  origin 
and  thy  destiny,  I  lift  thee  up  by  showing  to  thee  the 
remains  of  thy  greatness.  From  thy  abasement  I  de- 
rive a  proof  of  thy  condemnation,  and  of  the  need  which 


56  THE   REDEEMER. 

thou  bast  of  a  Saviour.  From  thy  elevation  I  derive 
a  proof  that  salvation  is  reserved  for  thee  .by  Him  who 
did  not  suffer  thy  degradation  to  become  total. ^  Abase- 
ment and  elevation  concur  in  forming  within  thee  that 
desire  for  Christ  which  prepares  thee  to  receive  him. 

Will  you  not  at  length  hear  this  appeal  of  divine 
love,  0  you  who  hitherto  have  refused  to  believe  the 
gospel  ?  You  have  not  been  willing  to  receive  it,  be- 
cause it  spoke  to  you  of  your  wretchedness  and  of 
the  grace  of  God.  Yet  here  are  those  two  capital 
dogmas  of  Christianity,  the  scandal  of  your  pride  ;  you 
meet  with  them  everywhere.  Nature  ppoclaims  them 
with  all  her  voices,  history  unrolls  them  before  your 
eyes,  and  you  are  yourselves  unexceptionable  witnesses 
to  them.  You  can  not  escape  from  revelation.  Should 
you  fly  to  the  end  of  the  world,  it  would  spring  up  again 
in  your  presence.  You  can  get  rid  of  it  only  by  part- 
ing with  yourselves.  To  tear  up  the  Bible  would  not 
settle  the  question  with  revelation.  You  must  tear 
in  pieces  your  heart,  and  annihilate  it,  for  as  long  as 
it  shall  beat  in  your  breast  it  will  be  a  living  echo  of 
Biblical  truth.  Why,  then,  resist  evidence  so  univer- 
sal ?  Why  not  suffer  one's  self  to  be  persuaded  by  such 
striking  contrasts  ?  Why  do  you  not  fall  at  the  feet 
of  Jesus  Christ,  broken  by  the  word  of  condemnation, 
to  rise  again  comforted  beneath  the  blessing  of  the 
word  of  love  ?  Peace,  divine  harmony,  would  succeed 
to  such  heartrending  conflicts,  and  you  would  not  have 
the  bitter  thought  of  having  been  the  prey  of  an  aim- 
less and  fruitless  sorrow. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  we  have  seen  that  the  work  of 
preparation  had  its  beginning  in  the  very  condition  of 


PBErARATION  FOR   THE    COMING    OF  CURIST.  57 

man  after  the  Fall.  But  more  than  this  was  needed  ; 
there  needed,  first,  the  experience  of  life,  and  then  the 
positive  revelation  of  God,  without  which  the  import 
of  these  contrasts  would  have  been  lost.  We  have 
now  to  sliow  you  by  what  circumstances,  by  what  rev- 
elations, and  by  what  institutions  God  developed  the 
desire  for  salvation  in  the  first  ages  of  humanity.  The 
facts  are  well  known,  and  I  have  only  to  recall  them 
briefly  to  your  remembrance. 

In  the  first  family  we  already  see  the  commence- 
ment of  the  contest  between  good  and  evil,  between 
the  seed  of  God  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent.  Abel 
represents  the  believing  portion  of  mankind,  as  Cain 
the  unbelieving  portion  in  his  hardness  of  heart  and 
his  murderous  hate.  The  first  blood  that  waters  the 
earth  writes  on  the  soil  a  sad  prophecy  ;  it  announces 
the  death  of  a  multitude  of  just  men,  and  above  all  of 
the  Just  One,  whose  blood,  poured  forth,  shall  speak  of 
better  things  than  that  of  Abel.  If  we  follow  the  des- 
tiny of  the  race  of  Adam  down  to  the  deluge,  this 
same  fact  re-appears.  Always  the  sons  of  God  are  set 
over  against  the  sons  of  men,  those  who  walk  in  the 
way  of  revolt.  There  is  a  moment  when  it  seems  that 
the  power  of  evil  is  about  to  triumph.  The  children 
of  God  have  covenanted  with  the  children  of  men. 
From  this  impious  compact  there  ensued  an  outbreak 
of  iniquities.  There  remains  but  one  faithful  family,  — 
the  family  of  Noah.  Then,  by  a  fearful  punishment, 
the  greatest  which  the  earth  has  experienced,  God 
breaks  the  power  of  sin.  The  deluge  is  like  a  second 
general  condemnation  of  mankind.  Everywhere  and 
at  all  times,  it  was  to  recall  the  sin  of  man  and  his 


58  THE   REDEEMER. 

chastisement  ;  as  also  the  deliverance  of  Noah  was  in- 
tended to  inspire  confidence  in  the  compassion  of  God. 
The  family  of  the  patriarch,  like  the  family  of  Adam, 
is  divided.  Once  more  and  quickly  sin  prevails,  and, 
with  sin,  chastisement.  Unbelieving  man  falls  into 
idolatry,  and  a  few  families  with  difficulty  keep  alive 
faith  in  the  true  God.  For  the  few  believing  souls, 
how  adapted  were  the  events  of  those  remote  ages  to 
awaken  the  desire  for  salvation  !  That  frightful  man- 
ifestation of  evil,  the  sight  of  the  immortal  creature 
prostrating  himself  before  stone  and  wood,  the  specta- 
cle of  his  degradation,  must  have  added  poignancy  and 
sadness  to  the  feeling  that  he  was  a  fallen  being.  The 
marks  of  the  deluge,  everywhere  visible,  powerfully 
impressed  the  soul  with  a  salutary  dread  of  the  right- 
eousness of  God.  On  the  other  hand,  the  multiplied 
blessings  granted  to  the  men  of  God  spoke  of  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord,  and  revived  the  hope  of  final  par- 
don. Did  they  not  behold  the  pledge  of  this  in  the 
rainbow  with  which  God  had  connected  his  second 
covenant  with  mankind  ? 

Furthermore,  brethren,  side  by  side  with  events, 
there  was  the  Word  of  God,  his  positive  revelation. 
The  promise  of  salvation  grew  more  precise.  It  was 
no  longer  the  great  human  family,  merely,  that  should 
beget  the  Saviour.  It  was  in  the  family  of  Adam  the 
branch  of  Seth,  in  the  family  of  Setli  the  branch  of 
Noah,  in  the  family  of  Noah  the  branch  of  Shem.  At 
the  same  time,  while  liope  was  strengthened  in  the 
heart  of  man,  his  sins  were  condemned  in  the  plainest 
language.  But  there  is  particularly  one  institution,  go- 
ing back  to  the  most  ancient  times,  —  for  it  is  found 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  59 

in  the  family  of  Adam,  —  that  plays  an  important  part 
in  the  preparatory  work  ;  I  refer  to  sacrifice.  When 
I  say  institution,  I  do  not  mean  that  it  was  directly 
founded  by  God.  It  may  have  been  so  ;  it  may  be, 
also,  that  there  was  no  special  revelation  on  this  sub- 
ject ;  the  sacred  narrative  bears  no  traces  of  it.  In 
any  event,  it  is  true  that  sacrifice  resulted  necessarily 
from  the  condition  of  man  and  the  promise  of  God. 
The  proof  is  found  in  the  universality  of  sacrifices  ;  a 
tribe  without  an  altar  is  yet  to  be  discovered.  Sacri- 
fice is,  then,  the  expression  of  a  universal  want  on  the 
part  of  conscience.  What  is  signified  by  sacrifice  ? 
For  what  end  was  it  instituted  ?  Sacrifice  is  a  palpa- 
ble manifestation  of  the  desire  for  salvation  ;  not  only 
does  it  manifest  this,  but,  as  with  all  our  sentiments, 
it  excites  and  develops  the  desire  while  giving  expres- 
sion to  it.  Why  do  men  offer  sacrifices  ?  Is  it  not  in 
order  to  be  reconciled  with  God?  It  is  in  this  hope 
that  the  lamb  and  the  bull  are  slain,  and  the  fruits  of  the 
earth  are  offered.  Sacrifice  is  an  endeavor  after  recon- 
ciliation, —  an  incomplete  endeavor,  since  it  is  contin- 
ually renewed.  What  does  this  import,  if  it  be  not 
man's  avowal  that  he  is  condemned  and  sinful  ?  Would 
he  seek  to  become  reconciled  to  God,  if  he  did  not  feel 
that  he  deserved  his  wrath  ?  The  confession  of  his 
wretchedness  ascends  with  the  flame  of  every  holocaust. 
Thus  the  first  feeling  comprehended  in  the  desire  for 
salvation  —  sorrow  on  account  of  condemnation  —  is 
expressed  by  sacrifice.  The  second  feeling — ^hope  of 
deliverance  —  in  like  manner  finds  its  symbol  there. 
Would  men  offer  sacrifices  if  they  believed  themselves 
smitten  with  remediless  condemnation  ?     Would  they 


60  THE   REDEEMER. 

attempt  an  impossible  reconciliation  ?  Sacrifice  is  of- 
fered only  to  a  God  in  whom  there  is  hope.  This,  then, 
was  the  language  uttered  by  the  victims  everywhere 
slain,  by  the  first  fruits  laid  upon  a  thousand  altars,  by 
the  oiferings  burnt  with  fire  :  "  0  God  !  be  appeased  ! 
be  appeased  !  We  have  offended  thee.  We  tremble, 
and  yet  we  hope,  since  wo  come  to  thee.  When  shall 
the  spotless  victim  come  ?  When  shall  be  offered  the 
sacrifice  of  a  perfect  reconciliation  ?  "  And  as  man 
knew  that  God  took  pleasure  in  such  sacrifices,  he 
gained  still  increasing  assurance  of  forgiveness  in  the 
confession  of  his  sin.  We  may  say  that  from  every 
altar  there  went  up  an  aspiration  toward  the  Saviour  ; 
an  aspiration  often  defiled  by  the  impure  incense  of  idol- 
atry, yet  nevertheless  gathered  up  by  the  true  God. 

The  first  period  of  revelation  has  shown  us  the  out- 
line of  the  preparatory  work.  We  pass  to  the  second, 
in  which  it  will  appear  to  us  further  advanced.  The 
second  comprises  the  election  of  a  family,  and,  in  that 
family,  of  a  peculiar  people  of  God.  Let  us  observe, 
first,  that  this  election  is  not  arbitrary,  any  more  than 
that  of  Noah.  Noah  feared,  and  built  the  ark.  Abra- 
ham believed  and  obeyed.  Faith  is  always  the  means 
by  which  divine  graces  are  apprehended.  Let  it  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  father  of  the  chosen  race  was  also 
the  father  of  believers.  If  we  consider  this  election  in 
itself,  we  shall  understand  in  what  manner  it  was  in- 
tended to  further  the  vast  plans  of  divine  love.  God 
said  to  Abraham,  "  Go  forth  from  thy  country,  and  from 
thy  father's  house."  Such  is  the  condition  of  the  prom- 
ise given  him  in  these  words  :  "In  thy  seed  shall  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  The  election  of  a  fam- 


PREPAHATION  FOR    TUE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  Gl 

ily  and  of  a  people  has  not  for  its  object  to  create  a 
privileged  race  ;  which  is  plainly  implied  in  those 
words.  This  election,  like  every  election,  is  a  minis- 
try, and  a  ministry  which  is  to  be  exercised  for  the 
benefit  of  all  mankind.  We  ought  never  to  lose  sight  of 
the  divine  purpose  in  the  election  of  the  people  of  Israel. 
God  designs  to  bless  in  them  all  the  families  of  the  earth. 
In  this  fact  there  lies  no  exclusiveness  ;  the  compas- 
sions of  God  are  not  inclosed  in  a  vessel  of  election  in 
order  to  be  imprisoned  there,  but  for  their  preserva- 
tion thereby,  and  that  they  may  pour  forth  the  more 
abundantly  upon  all.  How  many  times  has  this  elec- 
tion of  Israel  been  misconceived  and  belittled  !  List- 
ening to  certain  interpreters,  one  would  say  in  truth  that 
humanity  exists  only  for  the  Jews,  and  not  the  Jews 
for  humanity  ;  forgetting  the  very  words  of  their  elec- 
tion, which  so  clearly  define  its  purpose  :  "  In  thee 
shall  all  the  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  A  tran- 
sient fact  having  a  special  object  is  converted  into  a 
permanent  fact.  They  make  the  church  a  satellite  of 
Judaism,  called  to  shine  in  the  future  only  with  the 
brightness  which  it  borrows  from  that  system.  That 
there  are  blessings  reserved  for  this  people,  we  cordially 
concede  ;  but  that  their  destiny  shall  for  ever  be  as  if 
they  were  the  axis  of  universal  religious  history,  we 
deny,  even  in  the  name  of  Abraham's  election.  God,  by 
that  election,  designed  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  all 
the  families  of  the  earth. 

It  remains  to  inquire  how  this  special  election  con- 
tributed to  the  work  of  preparation.  You  remember, 
my  brethren,  in  what  we  made  that  work  specially  to 
consist  ;  it  is  in  the  development  of  the  desire  for  the 

6 


62  THE   REDEEMER. 

Saviour.  It  was  needful  that  humanity  should  come 
to  the  acknowledgment  of  its  condemnation,  and 
should  lift  toward  heaven  a  look  of  hope  and  supplica- 
tion. The  election  of  a  special  people  was  intended  to 
produce  and  to  strengthen  this  twofold  sentiment. 
The  chosen  people,  by  the  fact  of  its  absolute  separa- 
tion from  other  nations,  proclaimed  the  unworthiness 
and  the  corruption  of  our  nature .  From  its  isolation  the 
conclusion  necessarily  resulted,  that  in  order  to  be  con- 
nected with  God,  it  was  requisite  to  be  placed  apart 
from  the  race  of  man,  and  to  break  with  it  in  some 
sort.  What  could  more  plainly  reveal  to  it  its  wretch- 
edness and  its  condemnation  ?  It  was,  then,  a  profane 
race  ;  a  race  lost,  accursed,  since  the  first  condition 
of  belonging  to  God  was  to  break  all  relations  with  it, 
and  to  shun  in  some  sort  contact  with  it.  What  shame, 
what  a  brand  for  the  race  !  God's  people,  by  their  mere 
existence,  were  an  accusing  witness  of  the  Fall.  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  did  not  the  choice  of  a  portion  of 
humanity  show  that  for  it  all  was  not  lost  ?  that  there 
were  resources  of  grace  on  which  it  could  depend  ? 
This  imperfect  mediation  was  prophetical  of  the  per- 
fect mediation.  Chosen  men  had  the  right  of  commu- 
nicating with  God.  Every  bond  was  not  then  broken 
between  earth  and  heaven,  and  the  time  might  arrive 
in  which  human  nature,  forgiven  and  regenerate,  should 
regain  the  divine  communion  of  its  primeval  days. 
Word  of  condemnation,  word  of  hope  :  both  were  con- 
tained in  Judaism. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  to  be  observed,  that,  funda- 
mentally, the  election  of  the  people  of  God  corre- 
sponds to  a  need  of  the  conscience  universally  mani- 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  63 

fested.  Everywhere,  as  we  have  seen,  is  to  be  noted 
the  existence  of  altars  and  sacrifices.  We  may  add 
that  everywhere,  also,  before  Jesus  Christ,  priests  were 
found.  Now  the  feelings  which  gave  rise  to  the  priest- 
hood are  precisely  those  which  God  wished  to  develop 
by  the  election  of  the  people  of  Israel.  The  priest- 
hood is  Judaism  abridged,  as  Judaism  is  the  priest- 
hood enlarged.  In  fact,  what  is  set  forth  by  the 
selection  of  particular  men  to  present  unto  God  the  in- 
cense of  an  offering,  if  not  the  conviction  that  the  re- 
mainder of  mankind,  that  is,  the  mass,  the  generality, 
are  not  worthy  to  approach  him,  and  that,  consequent- 
ly, humanity  is  fallen  ?  The  priest  is  an  exceptional 
man  ;  man,  as  man,  is  thus  regarded  as  too  debased  to 
enter  into  direct  communication  with  the  Deity.  The 
priesthood  is  a  confession  made  by  man  of  the  Fall, 
while  the  selection  of  a  special  people  proclaims  it  in 
the  name  of  God.  The  priesthood  had  also  its  pro- 
phetic aspect  :  did  it  not  continually  declare  the  possi- 
bility of  man's  again  finding  God  ?  Would  he  have 
attempted  a  mediation,  if  he  had  not  had  some  glimpses 
of  pardon  ?  The  priests  were  like  unto  the  first  fruits 
of  the  race  placed  in  the  sanctuary,  awaiting  the  day 
when,  as  a  body,  it  could  enter  within  through  Jesus 
Christ.  Thus  God,  in  the  election  of  his  people,  sanc- 
tions a  fact  which  possessed  the  universality  of  con- 
science. He  accepted  it,  or  rather  he  had  already  pro- 
duced it  by  the  dispositions  which  he  breathed  into 
the  heart  of  man.  He  took  it  under  his  immediate 
direction,  in  order  to  cause  it  to  produce,  through  his 
culture,  a  fruit  of  salvation.  Let  men  cease,  therefore, 
to  be  scandalized  by  this  election  of  a  portion  of  the 


64  THE   REDEEMER. 

race,  as  if  it  rudely  broke  off  the  development  of  human- 
ity. Before  its  revelation  from  heaven,  it  was  partially 
realized  in  the  priesthood.  Israel  is  the  sacerdotal 
people.  In  like  manner,  as  no  one  charges  the  ancient 
priests  with  being  opposed  to  the  general  welfare,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  they  are  regarded  as  an  institution  ad- 
vantageous for  every  nation,  so  likewise  in  Israel's 
priesthood  should  there  be  recognized  an  institution 
of  great  benefit  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

Moreover,  my  brethren,  whose  fault  is  it  if  a  partic- 
ular people  has  been  chosen  ?  Must  not  this  be 
charged  on  the  frightful  corruption  of  other  nations  ? 
Have  we  not  seen  them  degraded  to  such  a  point  that 
they  prostrated  themselves  before  deified  matter  ? 
Idolatry  was  one  of  the  principal  moving  causes  of  the 
election  of  Israel.  The  worship  of  false  gods  had 
spread  with  fearful  rapidity.  It  had  speedily  attained 
its  worst  and  most  infamous  forms.  Doubtless  God 
was  not  willing  to  abandon  those  idolatrous  nations, 
and  we  shall  show  you  in  their  history  the  traces 
of  a  general  work  of  preparation  ;  but  it  was  not  the 
less  requisite  that  a  dam  should  be  thrown  up  to  stem 
the  impure  torrent  of  heathenism.  It  was  necessary 
that  faith  in  the  true  God  should  be  somewhere  con- 
served, and  that  there  should  be  a  people  placed  under 
his  direction  to  receive  his  revelations,  and  to  keep  the 
deposit  of  the  promises  until  the  day  of  their  fulfillment. 
Israel,  to  use  the  prophetical  image,  was  like  a  vine- 
yard planted  by  the  hand  of  God,  secured  by  a  hedge 
against  the  attacks  of  wild  beasts,  —  a  figure  very  appro- 
priately representing  the  gross  and  impure  religions  of 
the  old  world.   If  Israel  was  thus  guarded,  if  God  him- 


PREP  Ali  ATJON  FOR    THE  DOMING    OF   CHRIST.  65 

self  built  a  tower  and  a  wall  for  its  protection,  it  is  be- 
cause he  was  cultivating  in  that  inclosure  the  divine 
germ  which  was  destined  to  bear  the  salvation  of  hu- 
manity. We  shall  see  in  our  next  discourse  how  this 
germ  reached  its  maturity,  and  how  the  desire  for  the 
Saviour  by  degrees  attained  to  its  greatest  intensity. . 

The  election  of  God's  people  had  for  its  object  the 
good  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth  ;  such  is  the 
thought  which  re-appears  in  the  last  part  of  this  dis- 
course. May  it  remain  graven  on  your  hearts  !  Not 
only  does  it  vindicate  the  love  of  God,  but  it  also  teaches 
us  to  consider  our  privileges  in  a  Christian  spirit.  Our 
privileges,  like  those  of  the  Jews,  are  a  ministry  of 
love  on  behalf  of  poor  sinners  ;  they  invest  us  with  a 
mission  of  charity  ;  the  more  numerous  they  are,  the 
greater  is  our  mission.  They  are  perverted  when  con- 
sidered as  distinctions  accorded  for  our  benefit.  We 
are  not  the  end,  but  the  channel,  of  the  grace  of  God. 
Woe  be  to  us  if  we  desire  to  check  its  flow  !  Woe  be 
to  us  if  we  convert  the  Christian's  happiness  into  a  self- 
ish joy!  Men  have' been  found  who,  not  content  with 
regarding  the  election  of  the  people  of  Israel  in  an  ex- 
clusive manner,  were  wont  to  speak  no  less  narrowly 
of  the  existing  privileges  of  God's  people.  It  would 
seem,  on  hearing  them,  that  their  chief  comfort  con- 
sisted in  the  smallness  of  their  number.  A  little  people, 
a  little  flock,  were  favorite  expressions  with  them. 
With  lamentable  facility  they  resigned  themselves  to 
the  fact  that  humanity  as  a  whole  was  lost.  They  felt 
no  interest  in  her  destinies.  In  history  they  saw  only 
a  vast   evolution  of  infernal  power,  a  marching  on 

in  the  road  to  condemnation.     With  respect  to  them- 
6* 


66  THE  HE  DEE  MER. 

selves,  they  found  in  the  anticipated  spectacle  of  those 
terrible  judgments,  which  naturally  did  not  in  the  least 
concern  them,  an  undisguised  satisfaction.  This  ex- 
clusive tendency,  always  foreign  to  the  generality  of 
Christians,  proceeds  from  Judaism,  if  you  will,  but 
from  Judaism  such  as  it  appeared  in  the  days  of  St. 
Paul,  proud  and  narrow,  bitterly  attached  to  its  priv- 
ileges as  to  a  monopoly.  It  is  not  primitive  Judaism, 
Judaism  according  to  God,  through  which  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  were  to  be  blessed  ;  above  all,  it 
is  not  Christianity.  Let  us  put  very  far  from  us  this 
narrowness  which  denies  the  love  of  God.  Let  us  ac- 
knowledge, without  doubting,  that  many  are  called,  but 
few  chosen,  few  men  answering  to  the  call  ;  but  let  us 
acknowledge  it  with  tears.  Let  us  have  a  tender  sym- 
pathy for  humanity.  Humanity  !  I  love  the  word.  It 
answers  to  the  largeness  of  the  compassions  of  God.  It 
is  for  it  that  Christ  died  ;  his  blood  flowed  for  all.  Our 
Saviour,  says  St.  Paul,  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved, 
and  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  1  Tim.  ii.  4. 
May  every  gift  which  we  have  received  pass  from  our 
hearts  into  other  hearts  Î  Let  us  receive,  in  order  to 
give.  To  give  is  still  to  receive,  for  the  more  faith 
imparts  itself,  the  more  is  it  nourished.  Everything 
around  us  protests  against  the  limitation  of  divine 
charity.  We  have  shown  you  that  the  external  world, 
the  most  ordinary  facts  of  life,  the  contrasts  which 
strike  us  in  every  soul,  and  especially  the  great  and 
universal  voice  of  conscience,  bring  before  every 
human  creature  a  summons  to  conversion.  Let  us 
treat  none  of  them,  therefore,  as  if  strangers.  Let  us 
say  that  the  Spirit  of  God  breathes  upon  all,  and  that  the 


PREPABATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  67 

preparatory  work  is  outlined  in  each  one  of  tliem. 
Let  us  carry  the  gospel  to  our  brethren,  as  it  has  been 
brought  to  us,  with  love  and  with  sympathy.  Let  us 
show  them  that  this  Christ  whom  we  profess  is,  funda- 
mentally, the  desire  of  their  hearts  :  let  our  peaceful 
and  joyous  faith  prove  better  than  our  words  ;  that 
there  is  a  sovereign  delight,  garnered  up  in  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  to  meet  the  profoundest  wants  of  the  heart 
and  the  conscience.  Then,  my  brethren,  shall  we  realize 
the  will  of  God  manifested  by  our  election,  and  which 
is  so  admirably  expressed  in  those  words  addressed  to 
Abraham  :  "  I  will  bless  thee  ;  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing." 
Blessed  by  the  Eternal,  may  you  all  become  blessings 
for  the  families  of  the  earth,  and  labor  in  love  upon 
the  work  of  redeeming  love  ! 


CHAPTER  m. 

THE   PREPARATION   FOR   THE   COMING   OF 
JESUS    CHRIST. 


JUDAISM. 
"  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews."  —  John  iv.  22. 

WE  have  established,  in  our  last  discourse,  that 
the  election  of  a  special  people  of  God  aided 
in  the  fulfillment  of  the  first  promise,  which  is  con- 
tained in  these  words  :  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall 
bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent."  We  have  now  to  lay 
before  you,  in  the  history  and  the  institutions  of  the 
chosen  people,  the  development  of  the  preparatory 
work.  Our  text  positively  declares  that  salvation 
comes  from  the  Jews.  The  circumstances  in  which 
these  words  were  announced  show  forth  the  impor- 
tance of  them.  The  Saviour  was  conversing  with  a 
Samaritan  woman  ;  she  had  propounded  to  him  the 
question  which  was  chief  in  her  estimation  ancl  in 
that  of  her  people  :  who  are  right,  Jews  or  Samari- 
tans, in  their  common  claim  to  possess  the  true 
worship  which  is  approved  by  God  ?  Is  it  upon  this 
mountain,  or  at  Jerusalem,  that  men  ought  to  wor- 
ship ?  Our  Lord  declares  emphatically  that  the  true 
worship  is  that  which  is  celebrated  at  Jerusalem. 
es 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST.  69 

He  announces  that  blessed  era  in  wliich  all  local  and 
national  worship  shall  give  place  to  the  worship  in 
spirit  and  in  truth  ;  but  with  regard  to  that  which  con- 
cerns the  past,  he  fully  vindicates  the  Jewish  claim  : 
Salvation  is  of  the  Jews.  That  which  he  declares 
concerning  the  Samaritan  worship,  he  would  have 
equally  affirmed  concerning  every  other  system  of 
worship  outside  of  Judaism.  Thus  the  mission  of 
the  chosen  people  stands  before  us  in  all  its  greatness. 
It  is  a  mission  essentially  temporary,  as  is  proved  by 
the  prophetical  announcement  of  a  worship  in  spirit 
and  in  trutli  ;  yet  it  is  a  glorious  mission.  We  who  do 
not  acknowledge  tliat  other  nations  have  been  abso- 
lutely forsaken  by  God,  we  who  discern  in  their  history 
the  hand  of  God,  —  we  are  not  for  these  reasons  the 
less  persuaded  that  it  was  only  in  the  bosom  of  Judaism 
that  the  preparatory  work  was  directly  accomplished. 
With  St.  Paul  we  say,  "  What  advantage  hath  the  Jew  ? 
Much  every  way;  chiefly  because  that  unto  them 
were  committed  the  oracles  of  God."     Rom.  3 : 1,  2. 

Those  oracles  sounded  forth  from  the  lips  of  Jews  ; 
the  prophets  and  saints  pertained  to  the  chosen  nation. 
God  has  spoken  by  it,  and  to  it  tvas  the  privilege  given 
of  speaking  to  God  in  the  name  of  repentant  humanity, 
and  to  call  upon  the  Saviour.  It  is  upon  that  sacred 
soil  that  the  voice  of  Heaven,  promising  salvation,  and 
the  voice  of  earth,  suing  for  pardon,  have  met  and 
mingled  together.  It  is  in  the  posterity  of  that 
people  that  humanity  and  divinity  became  united  ;  it 
is  in  one  of  their  cities  that  the  word  could  be  spoken, 
"  Unto  us  is  born  a  Sayiour."  The  patriarchs,  the  be- 
lievers, the  kings,  the  men  of  God  in  every  age,  were 


70  THE  REDEEMER. 

the  ancestors  of  Jesus  Christ,  morally  as  well  as  ex- 
ternally. This  constitutes  the  "beauty  of  that  gene- 
alogy of  the  Saviour  which  the  Gospels  lay  before  us 
with  so  much  care.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  in  that 
only  a  dry  enumeration  ;  but  for  him  who  reads  it 
with  thorough  knowledge  of  the  history  of  God's 
people,  each  one  of  those  names  is  a  brilliant  link  in 
the  long  chain  of  revelations  terminating  in  Jesus 
Christ.  No,  we  will  not  lessen  thy  glory,  people  of 
Abraham,  of  Moses,  of  David  and  Isaiah.  If  we  can 
not  share  the  chimerical  hopes  concerning  thee  that 
debase  and  materialize  thy  true  mission,  yet  do  we 
declare  emphatically  that  no  nation  has  had  a  voca- 
tion similar  to  thine.  Beaten  down,  despised,  like  all 
the  chosen  of  God,  thou  hast  borne  in  the  ancient 
world  the  reproach  of  Christ.  Other  nations  have 
cast  more  luster  upon  history.  Thou  didst  not  pos- 
sess the  artistic  prestige  and  learning  of  Greece,  which 
has  ever  remained  the  powerful  enchanter  of  the 
human  mind.  But  it  availed  more  to  become  the 
vessel  of  clay  in  which,  to  use  the  apostle's  expres- 
sion, the  treasures  of  the  knowledge  of  God  were 
deposited,  than  the  vessel  of  gold  in  which  error  and 
corruption  were  inclosed.  To  all  the  disdain  of 
ancient  and  modern  wits,  thou  canst  reply  by  those 
words  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  woman  of  Sychem,  Sal- 
vatio7i  is  of  the  Jews.  My  brethren,  let  us  unfold  this 
important  truth  ;  and  may  I  be  enabled,  by  the  con- 
siderations presented  to  you,  to  increase  your  interest 
and  profit  in  the  perusal  of  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures !  Doubtless  you  have  experienced  sweet  and 
serious  impressions  in  reading  the  most  striking  and 


PREPARATION'  FOR    THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.  71 

the  most  touching  pages  contained  in  them.  You  have 
enjoyed  that  noble  and  divine  poetry  which  is  pro- 
fusely scattered  over  their  pages.  But  it  is  not  merely 
the  details  vrhich  ought  to  edify  us;  as  a  whole,  they 
ought  to  be  found  profitable.  The  connection  of 
every  part  of  the  Old  Testament  with  the  final  and 
sole  aim  of  the  entire  economy  being  once  perceived, 
light  thence  darts  forth  over  many  obscure  points, 
and  a  new  interest  invests  that  which  had  been 
already  read  in  a  fragmentary  manner.  I  suppose 
the  history  of  the  Jewish  paople  to  be  known  to  you 
in  its  main  outlines  ;  I  shall  limit  myself  to  the  task 
of  recalling  them,  only  attempting  to  give  you  a  clew 
amid  the  multiplicity  of  facts  and  of  divine  oracles. 

We  know  in  what  the  preparatory  work  consists. 
It  tends  to  develop  the  desire  for  the  Saviour.  It 
should  lead  man  to  weep  over  his  condemnation,  and 
to  seek  the  promised  Consoler.  It  has  no  other  aim 
than  to  develop  these  two  sentiments  which  produce 
the  desire  for  salvation,  —  bitter  sadness  on  account 
of  sin,  and  the  hope  of  pardon.  It  is  necessary  for  us 
to  come  back  to  that  which  we  have  said  concerning 
the  election  of  God's  people.  We  have  to  show  you, 
in  their  history,  the  progressive  sense  of  sin,  and  the 
progressive  assurance  of  reconciliation.  We  dis- 
tinguish four  periods  in  Judaism.  The  first  is  the 
patriarchal  epoch.  The  second  is  the  formative, 
the  constitutional  period  ;  it  extends  from  Moses  to 
the  reign  of  David.  The  third  is  the  period  of  full 
development  ;  rapid  and  transient,  like  every  phase  of 
prosperity  upon  the  earth,  it  extends  from  the  reign 
of  David  to  the  fall  of  Solomon.     The  fourth  is  the 


72  THE   lîEDEEMER. 

period  of  decline  ;  the  decay  is  at  first  scarcely  per- 
ceptible ;  it  is  traversed  by  returning  rays  of  the 
ancient  glory  :  this  period  extends  from  the  schism 
of  the  ten  tribes  to  the  subjugation  of  the  Jews  by 
the  Romans,  which  is  the  completion  of  their  earthly 
downfall.  Of  every  one  of  these  epochs  we  shall 
have  to  ask  ourselves  what  God  has  said  to  humanity 
by  his  revelation,  and  what  elect  humanity  has  an- 
swered him  ;  for  it  is  not  all  to  know  what  amount  of 
divine  seed  God  scattered  abroad  at  each  epoch  ;  it  is 
also  necessary  to  know  if  it  has  been  received,  and  to 
what  extent.  We  shall  show  you  the  desire  for  sal- 
vation constantly  growing  in  brightness  in  the  hearts 
of  true  Israelites  from  period  to  period,  until  all  its 
brilliancy  flamed  forth  above  the  very  ruins  of  the 
earthly  glory  of  Israel,  and  the  birth  of  Jesus  Christ 
gave  its  crowning  fulfillment  to  the  language  of  our 
text,  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews. 

Let  us  contemplate  Judaism  while  it  still  lies  en- 
tirely confined  to  the  family  of  the  patriarchs.  Every- 
thing in  their  lives  speaks  of  man's  condemnation 
and  God's  love.  The  smallest  incidents  have  a  bear- 
ing upon  the  remote,  a  rebound  in  the  distant  future. 
Each  event  conveyed  a  double  message  from  God  :  at 
first,  it  seemed  to  bear  but  one  message,  relating  to 
the  present  moment  ;  but  soon  there  comes  forth  an- 
other, of  greater  importance,  which  concerns  future 
times.  It  might  be  styled  a  divine  messenger,  who, 
when  ready  to  vanish,  carries  onward  into  the  future, 
by  a  gesture,  the  look  and  the  thought  of  man.  Let 
'IS  examine  from  this  point  of  view  the  trials  and 
ihe  blessings  common  to   all  the  patriarchs.     They 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  73 

were  at  first  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth,  pos- 
sessing only  the  grand  requisite  for  their  burial  in 
the  cave  of  Machpelah.  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
although  possessed  of  great  riches,  did  not  cease 
dwelling  in  tents.  In  this  sense  is  comprehended 
the  simple  fact  of  the  nomadic  life  led  by  shepherds 
in  ancient  times,  —  in  this  is  implied  the  express  will 
of  God.  The  patriarchs  traversed  countries  in  which 
flourishing  cities  had  been  built;  doubtless  they 
might  have  desired  to  erect  for  themselves  a  place 
of  repose.  But  they  were  forbidden  to  establish 
themselves  in  any  country,  however  smiling  and  fer- 
tile. It  was  a  trial  in  truth,  thus  to  be  strangers 
everywhere,  pilgrims  without  intermission.  But  what 
manner  of  life  more  favorable  for  feeling  that  since 
the  Fall  earth  is  only  one  vast  place  of  exile  ?  Noth- 
ing was  better  suited  to  persuade  the  patriarchs  of 
this,  than  for  them  to  lead  the  lives  of  exiles  in 
reality  and  in  the  very  places  of  their  birth.  Every 
country  was  for  them  a  strange  land,  even  the  most 
known,  the  best  loved,  except  the  narrow  ground 
where  rested  their  fathers,  and  where  they  were  to 
rest  themselves.  Their  waiidering  life  was  as  if  a 
fresh,  striking  revelation  of  the  condition  of  fallen 
man,  written  not  in  dead  letters,  but  in  symbolical 
facts.  Thus  their  traveling  tent  was  used  by  St. 
Paul  as  a  type  in  depicting  our  destiny  here  below  : 
''  We  who  are  in  this  tabernacle,"  said  he,  ''  do  groan." 
And  how  escape  this  groaning  when  once  in  such  a  tab- 
ernacle ?  how  not  sigh  with  regret  and  longing  after  a 
more  stable  life  ?  Assuredly  the  patriarchs  groaned 
under  their  life.     Far  from  becoming  acclimatized  and 

7 


74  THE  REDEEMER. 

sinking  to  sleep  in  their  transitory  condition,  they 
longed,  as  we  read  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
after  a  better  country.  They  were  men  of  desire, 
men  of  the  future.  And  God  had  given  them  the 
promise  of  that  better  country  :  ''  God  said  to  Abra- 
ham," showing  him  the  land  of  Canaan,  "  I  will  give 
thee  the  land  in  which  thou  dwellest  as  a  stranger." 
Gen.  17  :  8.  This  promise  was  renewed  to  all  the 
patriarchs.  Without  doubt  it  was  designed  to  have 
an  earthly  fulfillment  ;  in  fact,  this  it  received  ;  but 
the  earthly  fulfillment  was  secondary.  To  see  in  this 
anything  but  a  symbol,  to  imagine  that  the  eternal 
possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan  was  secured  to  the 
Jews,  is  to  deny  all  progress  in  .the  method  of  divine 
revelation  ;  it  is  to  detain  us  indefinitely  at  the  first 
step,  at  that  which  is  nearest  to  the  earth.  What  in- 
terest attaches,  speaking  in  a  religious  sense,  to 
the  fact  that  one  family  or  one  people  should  have 
in  prospect  a  fair  earthly  heritage  ?  Let  us  admit 
that  this  promise,  like  all  others,  has  a  material 
envelope  ;  but  beneath  this  envelope  is  hidden  the 
immortal  hope  of  salvation.  This  gross  vail  is  in- 
tended to  render  the  hope  palpable  to  man,  who  is 
himself  gross  and  childlike.  The  vail  in  itself  pos- 
sesses no  worth,  no  value  ;  only  that  which  is  hidden 
by  it  is  to  be  prized.  That  land  of  Canaan  imaged  in 
the  future  to  the  patriarchs  all  that  was  good,  all  that 
was  beautiful.  It  was  the  land  of  repose,  the  land 
of  joy  ;  it  was  the  accomplishment  of  their  aspirations 
for  a  better  order  of  things  in  the  world.  To  their 
eyes  it  was  substantially  the  kingdom  of  God  set  up, 
salvation   attained.     And   thus,  while  strangers  and 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.  75 

pilgrims,  they  had  an  end  before  them  ;  this  end  they 
were  ever  considering,  and  they  songlit  it  with  all 
their  strength.  Let  iis  repeat  it,  they  were  men  of 
desire. 

There  was  another  trial  and  another  blessing  which 
marked  the  life  of  the  most  ancient  among  the  patri- 
archs: the  trial  was  the  prolonged  expectation  of  a 
posterity  ;  the  blessing  was  the  birth  of  that  posterity 
on  whom  the  blessing  was  conferred.  God  had  not 
only  promised  the  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan, 
but  he  had  also  said  to  each  one  of  them,  "  I  will  give 
this  land  to  thee  and  to  thy  seed."  Those  who  take 
the  promise  concerning  the  land  of  Canaan  in  a  ter- 
restrial rather  than  spiritual  sense,  and  still  expect 
its  definitive  accomplishment,  ought  to  regard  in  the 
same  manner  the  promise  concerning  the  posterity  of 
Abraham.  They  ought  likewise  ,to  admit  that  the 
point  here  is  the  multiplication  of  this  posterity,  which 
became  more  numerous  than  the  sands  of  the  sea.  To 
this  no  Christian  interpreter  will  consent,  especially 
if  he  be  guided  by  St.  Paul,  who,  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  separates  the  spiritual  substratum  of  this 
prophecy  from  its  temporal  form.  The  symbolism  ad- 
mitted in  the  latter  case  ought  to  be  in  the  former. 

The  promise  of  a  blessed  posterity  made  to  Abraham 
is  in  close  connection  with  the  promise  given  in  the 
garden  of  Eden.  The  oldest  of  all  prophecies  spoke 
of  the  triumph  of  divine  love  over  the  power  of  dark- 
ness to  be  achieved  by  the  posterity  of  the  woman. 
Every  prophecy  bearing  upon  that  posterity  necessa- 
rily implied  the  birth  of  a  Saviour.  Thus  the  patri- 
archs must  have  seen,  in  the  posterity  promised  to  them, 


76  THE  REDEEMER. 

and  which  had  been  called  to  conquer  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, a  realization  of  the  promised  salvation.  I  know 
well  that  at  the  very  first  they  were  expecting  an  im- 
mediate fulfillment  of  the  words  of  the  Eternal.  They 
expected  a  posterity  who  should  be  richly  blessed  in  a 
temporal  point  of  view  ;  but  I  doubt  not  that,  without 
their  giving  precise  heed  to  it,  their  hope  went  beyond 
this  earthly  aspect  of  the  promise.  In  like  manner  as 
the  land  of  Canaan  represented  salvation  to  their  minds 
in  its  general  outlines,  so  the  posterity  that  should 
be  established  there  represented  to  them  the  Saviour, 
the  Liberator.  The  temporal  blessing  enveloped  the 
spiritual  and  eternal  blessing.  The  liope  of  salvation 
was  growing  stronger.  On  the  other  hand,  the  trial 
which  preceded  the  blessing  effectually  developed  the 
sense  of  human  misery,  not  only  because  to  be  tried  was 
to  suffer,  but  also  from  its  special  nature.  You  know, 
my  brethren,  how  the  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  a 
posterity  was  delayed  with  respect  to  the  first  patri- 
archs. Abraham  in  particular,  who,  as  well  as  his  wife, 
had  reached  a  very  great  age,  was  made  to  hope 
against  all  hope.  Isaac  was  born  of  parents  who  had 
passed  the  age  of  child-bearing  ;  he  was  a  child  of  mir- 
acle. Was  there  not  in  this  delay  a  glorious  symbol 
of  the  birth  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  ?  Was  it  not  an 
indication  that  this  blessed  posterity  should  be  not  the 
fruit  of  human  strength,  but  of  the  grace  of  God? 
Isaac  was  manifestly  a  gratuitous  and  miraculous  gift. 
When  Abraham  folded  him  in  his  enfeebled  arms,  he 
was  constrained  to  say  to  himself,  "  This  heir  of  all 
the  promises,  this  precious  seed,  to  whom  such  high 
destines  are  reserved,  is  the  cliild  of  my  old  age  and 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  77 

my  weakness.  He  is  a  monument  of  the  power  of 
God.  To  God  alone  be  all  honor  and  all  glory  !  Thus 
hmnility  was  mingled  with  the  joyous  hope  of  salva- 
tion, and  the  desire  after  Christ,  although  obscure  as 
yet,  was  rising,  purified,  to  heaven.  Circumcision, 
which  God  instituted  among  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham, was  the  seal  of  this  election.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  represented  the  moral  circumcision,  the  mortification 
of  the  heart  and  the  ^vill,  rendered  necessary  by  the 
principle  of  rebellion  which  sin  had  introduced  ;'<en  the 
other,  it  represented  the  favor  of  God  bestowed  on  the 
chosen  race. 

If  from  facts  common  to  the  life  of  all  the  patriarchs 
we  pass  on  to  facts  peculiar  to  each  of  them,  we  shall 
discover  the  same  end  pursued  by  the  Almighty  in  refer- 
ence to  them.  I  shall  refer  only  to  the  most  striking. 
The  faith  of  Abraham  underwent  a  fearful  trial.  The 
Lord  asks  of  him  to  offer  up  in  sacrifice  his  son  Isaac, 
that  son  on  whose  head  repose  all  his  hopes.  No 
words  can  depict  the  struggle  that  must  have  torn  the 
heart  of  the  father  and  the  believer.  It  was  the  greatest 
sorrow  of  his  life,  but  also  the  greatest  benediction,  for 
deliverance  came  to  him  out  of  heaven  as  complete  as 
it  was  unexpected.  The  funeral  pile  on  Moriah  was  a 
monument  of  the  compassions  of  God  until  the  day 
when,  illumined  with  new  light  by  prophecy,  and,  above 
all,  by  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  became  the  type  of 
the  most  unfathomable  mystery,  of  the  Father's  love 
delivering  up  his  only  Son  as  the  redeeming  sacrifice. 
Nothing  marked  is  presented  in  the  life  of  Isaac  ;  it  is 
a  reflection,  somewhat  dimmed,  of  that  of  Abraham. 
But  Jacob's  life  is  full  of  the  most  moving  interest. 

7* 


78  THE   REDEEMER. 

That  which  we  have  pointed  out  in  the  first  families 
of  mankind  re-appears  in  the  chosen  family.  The  seed 
of  the  serpent  becomes  developed,  in -this  family,  side 
by  side  with  the  seed  of  God.  Ishmael,  in  Abraham's 
family,  represents  this  wretched  portion  of  humanity. 
Esau  continues  the  tradition  of  evil  in  the  family  of 
Isaac.  Esau  is  the  carnal  man  of  the  present,  the  man 
of  the  earth,  the  materialist  who  sacrifices  to  his  flesh 
the  glorious  inheritance  of  the^promises  ;  Jacob  is  the 
man  »f  the  future  and  the  man  of  desire.  His  great- 
est trials  come  to  him  from  his  brother,  trials  which 
he  has  partly  deserved  by  the  culpable  deceit  that  was 
mingled  with  his  faith.  He  is  obliged  to  flee  in  sad- 
ness from  the  paternal  roof,  twice  an  exile  upon  the 
earth,  at  first  as  belonging  to  the  strange  and  wander- 
ing family  of  the  patriarchs,  and  then  because  he  was 
foi'ced  to  leave  his  aged  father  and  his  mother,  Re- 
bekah.  Affliction  follows  him  to  the  house  of  Laban, 
where  he  is  reduced  to  actual  slavery  ;  it  accompanies 
him  in  his  flight,  which  was  full  of  anxiety,  and  in  his 
interview  with  his  brother  ;  it  deals  him  some  of  its 
heaviest  blows  when  he  is  called  to  bury  the  wife  of 
his  choice,  and  when  he  mourns  as  dead  his  favorite 
son.  But  by  the  side  of  these  trials,  what  rich  conso- 
lations !  There  is  first  the  vision  at  Bethel,  the  lumi- 
nous ladder,  representing  communication  as  re-estab- 
lished between  earth  and  heaven  ;  there  is  afterward 
the  protection  that  covers  him  amid  the  different  dan- 
gers which  he  encounters  ;  there  is  his  numerous  pos- 
terity ;  there  is  his  well-beloved  son  found  again  upon 
the  steps  of  the  throne  of  Egypt.  There  is  one  event 
in  his  life  which  blends  its  sufferings  and  its  blessings, 


PREPARATION   FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  79 

and  reveals  the  tie  that  connects  the  one  with  the  oth- 
er ;  I  refer  to  the  mysterious  contest  which  he  sustained 
with  the  Ahnighty.  He  fought  with  tears  and  pray- 
ers, according  to  the  prophet  Hosea.  The  hand  of  his 
powerful  adversary  inflicted  on  him  a  deep  wound, 
which  became  the  sign  of  his  victory,  for  he  immedi- 
ately received  the  name  of  Israel^  which  signifies  con- 
queror of  God.  So  then  God  had  smitten  him  with  so 
many  trials  only  to  lead  him  to  that  brokenness  of 
heart  never  resisted  by  Him  who  has  said,  ''  I  dwell 
with  those  that  are  of  a  broken  and  contrite  heart." 
'God  wounds  us  only  in  order  that  he  may  be  moved 
by  us.  Man  can  become  Israel,  conqueror  of  God,  but 
not  through  his  strength  ;  it  is  through  his  weakness, 
by  the  annihilation  of  his  pride  ;  the  combat  and  the 
victory  of  Jacob  are  the  glorious  symbol  of  our  rela- 
tionship with  God.  The  patriarch's  wound  reminded 
him  of  the  sinful  race  of  which  he  was  a  part,  as  his 
name  assured  him  of  the  mercy  of  God,  who  is  willing 
to  be  overcome  by  our  sighs.  And  this  is  the  reason 
why  this  same  patriarch,  who  had  said  to  Pharaoh, 
"  My  days  are  few  and  evil,"  could  breathe  out  his 
soul  on  his  death-bed  in  a  song  of  triumpli  which  de- 
picted the  lofty  destinies  of  his  race.  Trials  and  bless- 
ings had  rendered  his  desire  for  salvation  more  decided  ; 
and  never  did  the  language  of  prophetic  inspiration 
proceed  from  lips  better  prepared  for  its  utterance. 

Such  was  the  patriarchal  era.     Revelation  there  ap 
pears  to  us  in  an  artless  and  childlike  form,  which  gives 
it  an  incomparable  charm.    Truth  was  rendered  palpa- 
ble and  visible  by  striking  acts.     Revelation  was  in  the 
life  of  the  patriarchs  like  a  parable  put  into  action. 


80  THE   REDEEMER. 

But  the  divine  seed  was  entrusted  to  a  good  soil  ;  hum- 
ble and  believing  souls  received  it.  The  mission  of 
the  patriarchs  was  accomplished.  They  assimilated 
to  themselves  the  part  of  revelation  accorded  to  them. 
In  their  persons  humanity  developed  the  germ  of  sal- 
vation deposited  within  itself  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
The  longing  for  the  Saviour  at  the  end  of  this  period 
is  more  intense  than  at  its  beginning.  The  following 
period  will  exhibit  to  us  this  desire  with  a  further  in- 
crease. 

This  second  period  is  that  of  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion. Let  us  first  speak  of  facts  ;  we  will  afterwards 
enter  upon  institutions.  Events  in  the  history  of 
God's  people,  alike  with  those  in  the  lives  of  the  patri- 
archs, are  divided  into  two  series,  trials  and  blessings. 
There  is  always  held  forth,  on  the  one  side,  God's  rod, 
which  bruises  the  sinner,  in  order  to  make  further  dis- 
closures to  him  of  his  condemnation,  and,  on  the  oth- 
er, the  helping  hand  of  the  Father,  holy  and  good, 
which  raises  up,  consoles,  and  restores  hope  to  the  af- 
flicted heart.  The  first  trial  of  the  descendants  of 
Abraham,  who  had  become  a  great  people,  is  their 
captivity  in  the  land  of  Egypt.  In  the  memory  of  the 
nation  that  captivity  remained  as  the  very  type  of  ca- 
lamity. Egypt  was  for  them  a  country  of  shame  and 
sorrow.  The  rod  of  the  exactor  fell  heavily  and  with- 
out cessation  upon  that  poor  people,  the  more  to  be 
pitied  because  they  knew  themselves  to  be  called  to  a 
more  glorious  destiny.  And  yet  the  very  excess  of  their 
affliction  was  made  to  bring  them  to  this  destiny,  for 
without  those  frightful  persecutions,  without  the  crush- 
ing toil,  without  the  murderous  sword  of  the  Egyptian, 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  81 

the  twelve  tribes  would  have  quickly  melted  themselves 
into  the  mass  of  the  dominant  nation.  The  children 
of  Abraham  would  no  longer  have  been  strangers  and 
pilgrims.  The  harsh  treatment  which  they  underwent 
erected  an  impassable  barrier  between  them  and  the 
oppressing  race.  And,  moreover,  this  suffering,  en- 
dured by  an  entire  people,  smitten,  mutilated,  trodden 
under  foot,  a  suffering  repeated  in  each  family,  fell 
with  its  whole  weight  upon  every  individual,  to  humil- 
iate and  subdue  him  before  God. 

The  going  forth  out  of  Egypt  was  itself  encom- 
passed with  many  painful  circumstances.  How  long 
was  it  expected  !  How  many  delays  !  What  sorrow- 
ful hindrances  !  How  often  did  it  not  seem  that  all  was 
lost,  and  that  the  chains  of  slavery  had  been  riveted 
by  a  fruitless  attempt  at  emancipation  !  And  what  a 
mysterious  trial  were  those  forty  years  passed  in  the 
burning  desert  !  In  order  to  have  a  just  representa- 
tion of  them,  it  suffices  to  recollect  that  more  than 
once  the  desert  made  the  chosen  people  sigh  after 
Egypt.  The  descendants  of  Abraham  were  not  only, 
like  their  ancestor,  strangers,  from  the  fact  that  they 
did  not  possess  an  inch  of  ground  in  this  world,  but 
they  were  absolutely  apart  from  all  nations,  lost  in  an 
immense  solitude,  turning  about  in  some  sort  within 
a  fatal  circle  which  they  could  not  step  beyond  ;  a 
few  days'  journey  from  the  land  that  flowed  with 
milk  and  honey,  yet  separated  from  it  by  the  im- 
passable barrier  of  a  divine  prohibition.  Every  mur- 
mur was  chastised,  every  revolt  crushed.  Almost  the 
entire  generation  which  had  left  Egypt  mingled  its 
dust  with  the  sands  of  the  desert.     Surely  the  God 


82  THE   BEBE E MER. 

of  justice  spoke  with  a  most  fearful  severity  to  the 
proud  heart  of  man  in  that  long  and  solitary  inter- 
view between  Israel  and  himself. 

And  with  respect  to  his  goodness,  when  was  that 
ever  more  resplendent  ?  When  did  it  manifest  itself 
by  more  wonders  ?  Shall  I  speak  of  that  liberator 
miraculously  rescued  from  the  waters  in  order  to  be 
raised  up  at  the  favorable  time  for  an  oppressed 
people  ?  Like  every  instrument  of  God,  he  was  pre- 
pared for  his  work  in  solitude,  humiliation,  and  suffer- 
ing. The  mission  of  deliverance  is  addressed  not  to 
the  Moses  who  is  in  the  Egyptian  court,  —  that  man  is 
yet  too  proud,  —  but  to  the  Moses  who  is  in  the  desert, 
a  lowly  shepherd,  trembling  at  the  voice  of  Jehovah. 
Shall  I  speak  of  Egypt  smitten  and  appalled  ten 
times  before  she  breaks  the  chains  of  Israel  ?  Shall  I 
speak  of  those  waters  driven  back  and  heaped  up  in 
liquid  walls  to  suffer  the  fleeing  people  to  pass  on  dry 
groimd,  whilst  they  roll  their  vengeful  waves  over 
Pharaoh  and  his  host  ?  Shall  I  speak  of  that  rock 
transformed  into  a  refreshing  fountain,  of  that  bread 
of  heaven  falling  regularly  to  nourish  a  people  too 
often  unbelieving?  Shall  I  speak  of  that  cloud, 
visible  sign  of  the  presence  of  the  Eternal?  You 
would  be  wearied  in  listening  to  the  enumeration  of 
these  incessant  miracles  before  we  could  exhaust  the 
evidences  of  the  paternal  goodness  of  the  God  of 
Israel. 

But  it  is  especially  in  the  conquest  of  Canaan  that 
his  love,  as  his  justice,  Avas  displayed.  You  know,  my 
brethren,  how  speedily  that  conquest  was  effected. 
Little  was  attributable  to  human  means  :  it  was  the 


PREPARATION  FOR    TUE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  83 

arm  of  the  Eternal  wliicli  beat  down  the  walls  of  Jeri- 
cho, and  which  opened  the  way  into  the  promised  land 
to  the  chosen  people.  I  know  that  this  entrance  was 
accompanied  with  terrible  and  mysterious  circum- 
stances which  have  continued  to  be  a  scandal  to  many. 
The  extermination  of  the  Canaanitish  tribes  chills  us 
with  terror,  even  at  the  distance  of  so  many  centuries. 
But  the  degree  of  depravation  to  which  those  impure 
nations  had  fallen  ought  not  be  forgotten.  Israel  was 
as  the  sword  of  the  divine  justice.  That  extermina- 
tion was  a  great  national  chastisement  ;  and  so  long  as 
God's  right  to  inflict  similar  chastisements  is  not  dis- 
puted, the  destruction  of  those  idolatrous  nations, 
like  the  deluge,  must  be  conceded.  God  made  use  of 
the  sword  of  Israel,  as  before  he  had  employed  over- 
flowing torrents  and  the  waters  of  heaven.  Moreover, 
it  was  necessary,  under  the  old  covenant,  that  his  jus- 
tice should  terrify  man.  The  terrible  Jehovah  could 
alone  beat  him  down  into  the  dust  and  make  him  sigh 
after  pardon.  This  was  an  indispensable  part  of  the  work 
of  preparation.  Do  you  understand  the  mixed  impres- 
sion produced  on  the  heart  of  the  chosen  people  by 
the  manifestation  of  the  wrath  of  the  Most  High,  of 
which  they  were  the  instrument,  and  by  the  continued 
revelation  of  his  love  in  that  beautiful  country  which 
was  itself  the  precious  gift  bestowed  by  his  love  ?  Was 
not  this  mingled  impression  precisely  the  desire  for 
the  Redeemer,  for  the  divine  Joshua  of  the  future  ;  was 
it  not  the  aspiration  for  the  full  possession  of  that  sal- 
vation of  which  Canaan  was  the  magnificent  symbol  ? 
The  design  of  God  appears  to  us  yet  more  clearly  in 
the  institutions  conferred  by  Moses,  in  his  name,  upon  the 


84  THE   REDEEMER. 

chosen  people.  These  are  combined  together  to  awaken 
and  enkindle  that  holy  desire  which  is  the  soul  of  the 
ancient  convenant.  They  enveloped  the  life  of  the 
Jew  as  if  with  a  close  net-work  which  pressed  upon  him 
everywhere,  in  the  sanctuary  as  well  as  in  his  house, 
upon  ordinary  days  as  well  as  upon  solemn  festivals. 
You  have  without  doubt  been  surprised  by  the  minute 
details  entered  into  by  the  inspired  lawgiver  of  Israel. 
They  have  seemed  to  you  unworthy  of  God.  But  it 
shows  a  very  small  acquaintance  with  human  nature 
to  trust  solely  to  great  institutions  where  man  is  to 
be  prostrated  and  controlled.  It  would  indicate  forge t- 
fulness  of  the  endless  shifts  to  which  our  frivolity  resorts. 
In  order  that  any  truth  should  act  effectually  upon  us, 
it  is  necessary  that  it  be  bl^tded  with  our  total  life  ; 
that  everything  should  recall  it  to  us  ;  that  it  should 
be  like  the  sea  that  wears  away  the  rock  by  its  thou- 
sand little  waves  constantly  dashed  against  it.  Detail 
is  of  more  consequence  than  generalities,  however  beau- 
tiful these  may  be.  What  is  it,  after  all,  but  the  adap- 
tation to  every  moment,  to  every  situation  in  life,  of 
the  great  and  sublime  truth  which  lies  at  the  founda- 
tion of  the  institutions  established  by  God  ?  Such 
truth  in  its  generality  resembles  an  ingot  of  gold, 
which  is  useless  till  it  is  coined  into  little  pieces  of 
money.  Let  us  bless  God,  therefore,  for  the  minute  care 
with  which  he  caused  everything  to  be  regulated  in  the 
worship  and  in  the  life  of  his  people.  By  this  remark  we 
do  not  desire  to  defend  the  exaggerations  of  thase  seek- 
ers after  types  who  pretend  to  read  the  gospel  in  the 
robes  of  the  high  priest,  in  the  smallest  parts  of  the 
ark,  and  in  the  least  important  prescriptions  of  the  cer- 


PJIEPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  85 

emonial  law.  This  is  transforming  the  interpretation 
of  the  Scriptures  into  a  childish  game,  a  kind  of  guess- 
ing at  enigmas,  whicli  amuses  the  mind  while  it  dries 
up  the  heart.  We  look  in  the  Mosaic  system  only  for 
the  great  outlines  of  the  preparatory  work,  and  the 
general  features  of  prophecy.  We  find  these  every- 
where, but  we  find  nothing  more.  Care  should  be  ex- 
ercised lest,  under  pretext  of  taking  away  the  vail  from 
Moses,  we  put  a  thicker  vail  upon  him.  Besides,  to 
what  purpose  the  indefinite  multiplying  and  refining 
of  types  ?  Most  certainly,  the  Jews  did  not  compre- 
hend them  ;  they  were  not  then  designed  for  them.  As 
regards  ourselves,  we  have  that  which  is  better  than 
figures,  we  have  tlie  gospel  realities.  This  madness 
after  types  very  injuriously  affected  the  preaching  of 
the  fathers  of  the  church.  It  often  exhausted  the 
strength  of  those  great  intellects  on  barren  subtleties. 
In  our  days  it  has  disfigured  more  than  one  edifying 
work.  Instead  of  permitting  the  sweetness  of  that  word, 
which  the  Psalmist  compares  to  delicious  honey,  to  flow 
into  the  soul,  men  have  gone  to  work  to  count  the  cells 
in  each  comb,  and  to  discuss  with  regard  to  their  com- 
bination. 

With  these  limitations,  let  us  examine  the  institu- 
tions given  by  God  to  his  chosen  people.  If  we  look 
at  these  closely,  we  shall  discern  in  all  these  institutions 
the  same  thought  which  struck  us  in  the  election  of  a 
people  of  God. 

These  institutions  are  characterized  by  some  general 
traits.  The  chosen  people  form  a  theocracy,  that 
is  to  say,  the  people  are  under  the  immediate  direction 
of  God,  governed  by  him.     In  the  laws  given  to  it  we 


86  THE   REDEEMER. 

arc  constantly  meeting  with  one  and  the  same  princi- 
ple, the  distinction  between  the  profane  and  the  sa- 
cred. The  chosen  people  are  separated  from  all  oth- 
ers, as  a  sacred  people  ;  in  this  people  the  tribe  of 
Levi  is  separated  from  the  other  tribes.  The  life  of 
this  people  is  divided  into  days  of  rest  and  days  of  la- 
bor. A  sacred  place  is  set  apart  in  the  land  inhabited 
by  them.  The  animals  form  two  classes,  the  clean  and 
the  unclean.  In  like  manner  as  Israel  is  set  apart  by 
God,  so  in  Israel  the  priests  are  set  apart,  and  in  ordi- 
nary life  the  sabbath  and  the  festivals  are  distinguished 
from  other  days  ;  in  the  land  of  Judah,  the  sanctuary 
at  Jerusalem  is  the  only  consecrated  place,  and  certain 
animals  alone  are  declared  to  be  not  defiled.  Nothing 
is  more  characteristic  of  Judaism  than  this  being  set 
apart.  It  is  found  in  the  whole  and  in  the  details  ;  it 
passes  from  sphere  to  sphere  as  if  in  a  series  of  consecu- 
tive circles.  From  the  national  life  it  enters  into  the 
individual  life.  We  proceed  to  explain  this  fact  which 
is  so  remarkable  in  its  connection  with  the  preparatory 
work. 

The  solution  has  been  already  given  in  speaking  of 
the  election  of  God's  people  ;  for  the  thought  which 
presided  over  that  election  lives  also  in  each  one  of 
the  institutions  of  Israel.  We  have  already  shown  in 
what  manner  it  could  contribute  to  the  development 
of  the  desire  of  salvation.  It  proclaimed,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  fall,  the  perdition  of  human  nature  ;  hu- 
manity was  declared  to  be  lost,  since  it  was  necessary 
to  be  separated  from  it  in  order  to  enter  into  relation- 
ship with  him.  On  the  other  hand,  it  proclaimed  the 
possibility  of  a  return  into  favor,  since  God  deigned, 


PREPARATION   FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  87 

nevertheless,  to  accept  a  human  mediation,  imperfect, 
yet  prophetic.  No  man  can  approach  unto  a  holy  God 
except  by  a  special  grace.  He  has  no  right  to  plead, 
in  order  to  obtain  it,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  this 
grace  possesses  an  exceptional  character.  This  excep- 
tional character  is  very  important  ;  the  exception  estab- 
lishes the  rule,  that  is  to  say,  the  general  principle  of  the 
perdition  of  mankind,  at  the  same  time  announcing  its 
re-constitution  by  showing  the  possibility  of  such  renova- 
tion. In  like  manner  do  we  find  this  same  characteristic 
in  the  different  institutions  pertaining  to  the  Mosaic  sys- 
tem. It  was  not  enough  that  the  chosen  people  should  be 
separated  in  the  mass  from  other  nations.  The  human 
heart  is  so  prolific  in  illusions,  that  the  Jewish  people 
would  speedily  forget  the  profound  reason  for  this  sep- 
aration, this  exceptional  position  ;  it  would  forget  the 
corruption  of  human  nature.  The  separation,  the  ex- 
ception, must,  therefore,  re-appear  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  Hence  the  choice  of  a  sacerdotal  tribe.  Hence 
the  priesthood,  which,  to  use  a  comparison  borrowed 
from  the  sciences,  is  Judaism  as  the  second  power. 
The  priesthood  fulfills,  in  reference  to  the  chosen  peo- 
ple, the  same  mission  which  is  fulfilled  by  this  people 
with  regard  to  humanity  ;  it  brings  before  the  people 
the  wretchedness,  the  un  worthiness  of  man,  and  also  the 
goodness  of  God,  who  proposes  the  means  of  reconciling 
man  to  God.  And  even  this  is  not  enough  ;  human 
nature  is  not  only  defiled  in  a  general  manner,  its 
manifestations  partake  of  the  defilement.  The  life  of 
man  is  an  impure  life.  He  must  be  brought  to  feel 
that  his  life  renders  him  incapable  of  approaching  God, 
that  its  habitual  current  flows  far  from  God,  and  that 


88  THE   lŒDEEMER. 

extraordinary  grace  is  necessary  in  order  that  he  may 
come  before  God.  Hence  the  distinction  between  holy 
days  and  common  days.  The  sabbath,  the  feast  day,  the 
sacred  days,  reminded  the  people  of  the  habitual  defile- 
ment of  human  life,  and  of  the  condescension  of  God, 
who  deigns  to  provide  for  man  an  opportunity  of  throw- 
ing off  momentarily  this  defilement.  And  even  this 
does  not  suffice.  Man  must  be  brought  to  feel  that  the 
earth  which  he  treads  upon  is  an  accursed  earth,  that 
there  can  not  ascend  from  all  parts  of  its  surface  a 
worship  acceptable  to  God.  Hence  the  distinction  of 
holy  places  and  of  places  which  are  not  holy.  Hence 
the  erection  of  a  sanctuary,  which  is  a  monument  both 
of  the  fall  and  of  grace  ;  of  the  fall,  since  the  neces- 
sity of  a  sanctuary  has  arisen  ;  of  grace,  since  God  ac- 
cepts it.  Finally,  man  ought  to  feel  that  the  curse 
which  has  smitten  the  earth  has  smitten  all  that  is  con- 
tained within  it.  Hence  the  distinction  between  ani- 
mals clean  and  unclean,  and  all  those  laws  of  purifi- 
cation which  brought  before  the  mind  the  universality 
of  man's  defilement,  together  with  the  possibility  of 
its  being  washed  away.  Thus,  my  brethren,  this  dou- 
ble word  of  condemnation  and  of  love  which  we  have 
heard  in  the  outer  world  and  in  the  inner  world,  and 
which  is  re-echoed  by  the  prayer  of  man  calling  upon 
his  Saviour,  resounds  alike  in  the  most  divine  institu- 
tions of  Moses.  They  send  it  back  one  to  the  other  ; 
they  all  say  together  to  man,  "  Thou  hast  sinned  ;  thy 
race  is  condemned  ;  therefore  is  thine  a  sacerdotal 
people  ;  therefore  there  are  priests  among  that  people. 
Thy  life  is  defiled  in  its  source,  therefore  thou  needest 
special  days  for  worship.     The  earth  itself  is  enveloped 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST.  89 

in  the  condemnation.  For  this  cause  thou  hast  need 
of  a  sanctuary.  All  that  encompasseth  thee  is  changed 
by  the  evil  principle.  For  this  cause  thou  hast  need 
of  incessant  purifications."  Priesthood,  sabbath,  tab- 
ernacle, ceremonial  laws,  —  there  is  no  one  of  these 
institutions  which  does  not  tend  to  develop  the  feeling 
of  sinfulness  and  the  hope  of  reconciliation  ;  in  other 
words,  the  desire  for  salvation. 

Of  one  of  the  institutions  occupying  the  largest  space 
in  the  Mosaic  system  I  have  not  spoken,  because  we 
have  already  characterized  it  in  the  primitive  family  of 
mankind,  and  have  brought  forth  its  peculiarities  to 
the  light  :  I  need  not  say  that  I  am  referring  to  sacri- 
fice. You  know  the  part  it  plays  in  the  life  of  every 
Israelite.  Moses  established  ordinances  in  the  minut- 
est detail  for  the  numerous  cases  in  which  men  were 
required  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  Lord.  The  sacrifice 
was  for  sin,  on  account  of  sin.  It  disclosed  its  hein- 
ousness,  and  announced  the  reparation  for  it.  In  every 
lamb  that  was  slain  man  confessed  his  guiltiness,  and 
God  promised  his  pardon.  I  will  not  insist  upon  a 
truth  so  evident. 

But  there  are  two  great  facts  in  Judaism  to  which  we 
are  bound  to  call  your  attention,  because  they  furnish 
a  striking  vindication  of  our  point  of  view.  These  two 
facts  are,  as  it  were,  the  two  pillars  of  the  old  econ- 
omy ;  I  refer  to  the  law,  and  to  prophecy.  Each  one 
of  these  corresponds  to  one  of  the  sentiments  which 
make  up  the  desire  for  salvation  ;  the  law  corresponds 
to  the  sense  of  condemnation,  and  prophecy  to  the 
hope  of  pardon.  We  have,  to  support  this  view,  the 
most  positive  interpretation,  that  of  the  apostle  Paul. 
8* 


90  THE  REDEEMER. 

The  law  of  Sinai  is,  according  to  him,  a  schoolmaster 
to  bring  us  to  Christ,  that  is  to  say,  a  severe  master, 
wlio  prepares  man  to  be  guided  by  the  gentle  Master. 
How  does  he  bring  us  to  Jesus  Christ  ?  By  rendering 
sin  exceeding  sinful^  says  the  same  apostle  ;  that  is, 
by  forcing  sin  to  manifest  itself,  to  reveal  itself  plainly 
in  broad  daylight.  Sin  loves  darkness  ;  it  loves  to  dif- 
fuse itself  like  a  subtle  and  imperceptible  poison 
through  all  our  emotions  ;  it  fears  the  light  ;  like  the 
serpent  who  personifies  it,  sin  creeps  upon  the  earth  ; 
the  more  hidden  it  is,  the  more  safe  it  thinks  itself. 
But  now  the  law  of  God  comes  to  tear  away  its  de- 
ceitful vails.  It  can  no  longer  beguile,  for  by  the  law 
true  holiness  is  revealed  to  man.  The  law  places  him 
in  the  presence  of  God.  It  darts  a  pitiless  light  into 
his  heart  ;  it  forces  him  to  confess  his  inward  corrup- 
tion. It  sets  before  his  eyes  the  pure  mirror  of  the 
divine  perfections,  and  he  is  constrained  with  trembling 
to  behold  his  deformity  and  to  curse  it.  Thus  sin  be- 
comes exceeding  sinful.  This  is  not  all.  The  law 
awakens  in  man  the  desire  to  realize  that  moral  ideal 
to  which  liis  conscience  conforms.  But  the  command- 
ment of  the  old  law  brings  light  without  heat.  Man 
necessarily  fails  in  this  attempt,  and  from  it  there  re- 
mains to  him  but  the  persuasion  of  his  incurable  power- 
lessness.  Finally,  the  law  does  not  cease  to  be  the 
daughter  of  Sinai,  the  mount  of  the  wrath  of  God.  It 
was  promulgated  in  the  midst  of  lightnings  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  people  smitten  to  the  earth  by  fear,  and  it  is 
ever  rolling  over  the  head  of  man,  like  a  thunderbolt 
ready  to  strike  him,  thus  threatening  :  If  thou  doest 
not  these  things,  thou  shall  die.     Thus  the  mission  of 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  91 

the  law  is  threefold  :  to  reveal  the  holiness  of  God, 


and,  in  contrast,  the  corruption  of  man,  to  bring  him 
to  feel  practically  his  weakness,  and  to  terrify  him  by 
the  thought  of  the  anger  of  God.  It  presents  to  man 
God's  justice  separated  from  his  love,  not  only  in  the 
domain  of  the  religious  life,  but  also  within  the  sphere 
of  civil  life.  The  law  of  retaliation, — An  eye  for  mi  eye, 
a  tooth  for  a  tooth,  —  realized  at  first  in  the  relations  of 
man  with  God,  enters  into  the  various  social  relations. 
The  law  of  Sinai,  to  employ  an  image  of  the  Scriptures, 
holds  in  its  hand  the  sword  of  the  Eternal.  With  this 
sword  it  pierces  man  through  and  through,  in  order  to 
pluck  away  from  him  the  dreams  of  pride,  and  that  he 
may  fall,  subdued,  crushed,  at  the  feet  of  the  Lord,  cry- 
ing out,  "  I  am  only  a  poor  sinner  ;  have  thou  pity  on 
me  !  " 

And  already  God  was  showing  pity.  Prophecy  pre- 
vented man  from  plunging  into  despair.  Like  the  an- 
gel who  gathers  in  his  vial  our  sighs  and  our  suppli- 
cations, prophecy  was  gathering  up  the  tears  and  the 
groans  which  the  law  extorted  from  man,  and  was  trans- 
muting them  into  prayer.  The  law  threw  him,  wounded 
and  bruised,  into  the  dust.  Prophecy  raised  him  up, 
and  poured  into  his  wounds  the  oil  and  the  wine  of  heav- 
enly love.  It  was  the  voice  of  prophecy  that  spoke  to 
him  of  deliverance,  which  in  advance  painted  to  him  in 
mystical  pictures  the  triumphs  of  the  power  of  mercy. 
It  would  be  having  an  incomplete  conception  of  proph- 
ecy to  see  it  nowhere  but  in  the  oracles  of  the  proph- 
ets. It  circulated  in  every  part  of  Judaism,  it  flowed 
from  every  institution,  as  from  every  event.  The  Mo- 
saic system  was,  as  a  whole,  the  figure  of  that  which  was 


92  THE   REDEEMER.  ' 

to  come.  Thus  even  when  there  flourished  no  prophet, 
prophecy  did  not  cease  for  a  moment  to  cause  its  voice 
to  be  heard.  Even  in  silence  it  spoke  by  the  worship, 
by  the  altar,  by  the  blood  of  the  victims. 

Let  us  not  isolate  the  law  from  prophecy,  and  let  us 
contemplate  this  double  ministry  exercising  itself  sim- 
ultaneously. The  law  said  to  man,  "  God  is  a  jealous 
God.  Woe,  woe  unto  the  wicked  !  His  indignation  is 
like  the  mighty  waters.  Eebels  and  sinners  shall  be 
dashed  together,  and  those  who  have  forsaken  the  Eter- 
nal shall  be  consumed.  Ah  !  I  will  satisfy  myself,"  he 
cried,  "  in  punishing  mine  adversaries.  I  will  take  ven- 
geance on  mine  enemies."  Prophecy  immediately 
rejoined,  ''  Though  your  sins  shall  be  as  scarlet,  they 
shall  be  made  white  as  snow."  The  law  cried  out, 
*'  Desolation  !  desolation  !  "  Prophecy  drowned  its  voice  : 
"  The  desert  shall  blossom  like  the  rose.  Comfort  ye  : 
behold  your  God.  The  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be 
opened,  and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped." 
And  thus  the  law  and  prophecy  walked  side  by  side, 
the  one  smiting  and  terrifying,  the  other  consoling  and 
strengthening.  Between  the  two,  man,  at  once  hum- 
bled and  encouraged,  went  forward  over  a  desolate  road 
toward  a  luminous  end,  throwing  himself  with  all  his 
soul  far  from  a  present,  made  gloomy  by  the  law, 
toward  a  future  rendered  radiant  by  prophecy.  The  law 
and  the  prophets  completed  the  sum  of  the  Mosaic  in- 
stitutions. We  can  perceive  already  their  transitory 
character.  The  law,  in  its  Jewish  form,  was  to  be 
abolished  at  the  very  time  of  its  fulfillment  ;  the  proph- 
ecy of  the  Old  Testament  was  to  withdraw  at  the  com- 
ing of  the  Saviour,  as  the  figure  before  the  reality. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  93 

The  distinction  between  things  sacred  and  profane  was 
destined  also  to  vanish  away  when  redemption  should 
be  accomplished  and  should  have  reinstated  man  in  his 
primitive  condition.  The  priests,  the  sabbath,  the  sanc- 
tuary, the  distinction  between  animals,  all  these  insti- 
tutions, bound  together  by  one  and  the  same  thought, 
were  destined  to  disappear  like  Judaism  itself,  with 
which  they  were  indissolubly  connected.*  To  carry  them 
onward  into  Christianity  is  to  deny  the  difference  be- 
tween the  preparatory  work  and  the  realization  of  sal- 
vation. Happy  should  we  be  if  some  pious  Christians 
had  not  been  urged  by  grievous  misconceptions  on  this 
point  to  gather  up  the  remains  of  the  old  dispensation 
in  order  to  introduce  them  into  the  spiritual  temple. 
This  has  contributed  neither  to  its  beauty  nor  its  solid- 
ity. Let  us  leave  the  Mosaic  institutions  to  this  true 
purpose  ;  it  suffices  for  their  glory. 

If  you  wish  to  have  not  merely  an  abstract  idea,  but 
a  kind  of  intuition  of  the  influence  which  it  was  in 
the  power  of  these  institutions  to  exert,  follow  me  into 
the  holy  city  at  the  time  when  the  system  of  Moses 
had  attained  its  full  development.  Let  us  bring  before 
our  minds  the  life  of  a  pious  Israelite,  as  it  was  at  that 
epoch.  He  knows  that  he  belongs  to  a  chosen  people, 
and  that  he  is  surrounded  with  an  idolatrous  nation 
with  whom  he  ought  to  avoid  all  intercourse.  "•  Take 
heed  to  thyself,"  God  has  said,  "  and  make  no  covenant 
with  the  land  whither  thou  goest  to  possess  it."  He 
remembers  the  extermination  that  was  visited  upon 
them  in  the  time  of  his  fathers,  and  he  says  to  himself, 
with  trembling,  that  his  God  is  a  holy  God,  who  hateth 
iniquity.     By  his  gifts  and  the  offerings  which  he  lays 

*  Compare  Col.  ii.  10,  17.  — Ed. 


94  THE   REDEEMER. 

on  the  altar,  he  acknowledges  his  absolute  depend- 
ence upon  this  jealous  God.  His  wretchedness  and 
his  ill-desert  are  brought  before  him  by  the  descend- 
ant of  Aaron,  who  alone  presides  over  the  worship. 
He  can  not  sit  down  to  his  table,  though  it  be  for  a  feast 
of  rejoicing,  without  the  idea  of  universal  defilement 
being  brought  to  his  mind  by  the  care  he  is  obliged  to 
exercise  lest  he  touch  any  unclean  animal.  If  he  goes 
into  the  streets  of  his  city,  he  must  shun  contact  with  all 
that  is  profane.  Festival  days  are  full  of  the  same  in- 
struction for  him.  The  sabbath,  the  new  moon,  the 
seventh  month,  the  seventh  year,  are  suggestive  to 
him  of  that  period  of  innocence  in  which  the  entire 
life  was  one  peaceful  service  of  God  ;  which  it  is  no 
longer  ;  for,  alas  !  the  time  of  worship  must  be  set  apart 
by  itself.  The  Passover  revives  in  him  the  remem- 
brance of  the  deliverance  out  of  Egypt  ;  the  mystic  lamb 
causes  him  to  foresee  another  deliverance  a  thousand- 
fold more  momentous.  The  Pentecost  takes  him  back 
to  the  day  when  the  law  was  ^iven  to  him  :  Sinai  rises 
before  him,  and  he  smites  upon  his  breast.  The  Feast 
of  Tabernacles  recalls  the  time  in  the  wilderness  when 
Israel  dwelt,  like  his  fathers,  beneath  a  tent.  Bless- 
ings, as  well  as  chastisements,  are  revived  in  his  mem- 
ory. But  who  can  truly  define  that  which  he  experi-  " 
ences  when  he  stands  beholding  the  sacrifice  that  is  of- 
fered for  the  people  morning  and  evening,  and  especially 
when  he  offers  a  sacrifice  for  his  own  sins  ?  He  lays 
his  hands  upon  the  victim  to  constitute  the  slain  lamb 
or  bull  his  representative.  Before  the  sacrifice  is  made, 
he  is  crushed  beneath  the  burden  of  his  guilt  ;  he  is 
comforted  in  his  heart  when  the  blood  has  flowed. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF    CHRIST.  95 

Can  you  think  that  this  feeling  is  connected  solely  with 
the  death  of  the  victim  ?  Is  there  not  a  voice  from 
God,  a  voice  from  prophecy,  an  inward  voice,  also, 
which  bids  him  read  in  the  blood  poured  forth  a  prom- 
ise of  complete  redemption  ?  He  returns  hence  to  his 
house  with  more  hope,  but  also  with  a  more  ardqnt 
desire  for  pardon,  and  with  a  more  glowing  aspiration 
to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  shall  take  away  the  sins  of 
the  world.  There  was  one  day  in  the  year  which  was 
pre-eminently  the  day  of  sacrifice.  It  was  the  day  of 
atonement.  Bring  before  your  mind  that  solemn  scene, 
and  the  impressions  which  it  ever  excited  in  the  breast 
of  our  pious  Israelite.  The  high  priest  begins  by  of- 
fering the  sacrifice  for  himself  and  his  family.  Then  he 
slays  a  goat  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  He  purifies  every 
part  of  the  sanctuary  by  sprinkling  the  blood  upon  it. 
It  is  necessary,  then,  —  the  believing  Jew  must  think 
within  himself, —  that  that  which  is  purest  and  holiest 
upon  the  earth  should  be  purified  in  the  eyes  of  God  ! 
0  race  condemned  and  unclean,  humble  thyself  in 
the  dust!  The  high  priest  has  remained  alone  in 
the  sanctuary  for  this  sacrifice  :  not  only  has  he  sprinkled 
the  horns  of  the  altar,  but  he  has  retired  within  the 
vail,  into  the  holy  of  holies.  What  a  moment  !  This 
vail  which  has  been  raised  on  this  day  only,  for  this 
man  alone,  when  shall  it  be  lifted  up  for  me  ?  When 
shall  I  be  satisfied  with  the  joys  of  thy  likeness,  0  my 
God  ?  What  pious  heart  does  not  burn  at  this  hour 
to  reach  beyond  the  vail  ?  All  is  not  ended.  The  high 
priest  takes  a  goat,  lays  on  him  the  sins  of  all  the 
people  by  placing  his  own  hands  upon  him,  and  sends 
him  into  the  wilderness,  as  if  declaring  that  one  day 


96  THE   BE  DEE  MER. 

the  iniquity  should  be  removed  from  off  the  condemned 
race  of  man.  Oh  !  when  shall  shine  that  day  of  effi- 
cacious pardon  ?  When  shall  we  return  into  our  dwell- 
ings free  from  this  frightful  and  crushing  weight  of 
our  sins  ?  0  Thou  who  art  to  come,  divine  Seed  of  the 
woman,  Messiah,  Deliverer,  Saviour,  come  quickly! 
Thus  in  all  the  solemn  feasts  there  ascended  from  the 
sanctuary,  as  from  the  dwelling  of  the  humblest  child 
of  Israel,  every  day  of  the  week,  that  sighing  after 
Christ  which  all  the  institutions  of  Moses  were  de- 
signed to  awaken. 

We  have  dwelt,  my  brethren,  upon  the  Mosaic  sys- 
tem, because  the  full  comprehension  of  it  was  essential 
to  our  purpose.  We  shall  pass  more  rapidly  over  the 
remaining  periods  in  the  history  of  Israel.  The  period 
of  the  chosen  nation's  full  development  was  as  brief 
as  brilliant.  After  the  conquest  of  the  promised  land, 
there  follows  the  tumultuous  epoch  of  the  Judges,  so 
fruitful  in  disasters  and  in  deliverances.  The  moral 
fluctuations  of  the  people,  tossed  to  and  fro  between 
the  worship  of  the  true  God  and  idolatry,  are  repeated 
in  their  destiny.  When  they  forsake  God,  they  are  for- 
saken by  him;  and  then  come  their  chastisements. 
When  they  humble  themselves  beneath  his  rod,  a  de- 
liverer is  raised  up,  type  of  the  future  Deliverer  who 
shall  come  in  the  time  of  the  great  humiliation.  The 
form  of  Samuel,  of  the  Seer  pre-eminently,  shines  with 
a  mild  luster  in  this  obscure  epoch  ;  it  is  he  who  con- 
secrates the  first  king  of  Israel.  Until  then  the  invis- 
ible King  had  sufficed  ;  external  royalty  was  the  fruit 
of  unbelief;  but  God,  deriving  good  out  of  evil,  con- 
Verted  this  into  an  august  type  of  the  promised  Mes- 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF   CHRIST.  97 

siali.  Prophecy  found  in  it  an  additional  lineament 
wherewith  to  depict  in  advance  the  image  of  the  Sav- 
iour. The  king  after  God's  heart  was  David  ;  like  all 
the  great  servants  of  the  Lord,  he  was  taken  from  the 
desert  ;  he  was  often  sent  back  to  the  desert  during 
the  time  of  trial  which  preceded  his  actual  entrance 
upon  kingly  power.  Afflictions  were  intermingled 
with  blessings  in  his  life,  which  was  at  once  so  human 
and  so  devout.  The  reign  of  David,  and  of  Solomon 
his  son,  carried  the  glory  of  Judaism  to  its  culminating 
point.  After  them  it  begins  to  decline,  but  spiritually 
it  still  continues  ;  for  it  is  proper  to  embrace  in  the  pe- 
riod of  the  full  development  of  the  old  covenant,  the 
epoch  of  the  four  great  prophets,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah, 
Daniel,  and  Ezekiel.  Let  us  endeavor  to  apprehend 
the  results  of  this  period,  with  reference  to  the  work  of 
preparation.  It  is  characterized,  above  all,  by  the 
magnificent  unfolding  of  prophecy,  as  the  preceding 
had  been  by  the  exhibition  of  the  severities  of  the  law. 
We  are  not  to  believe  that  the  law  was  silent  dur- 
ing the  epoch  signaled  by  the  appearance  of  the  great 
prophets.  That  is  a  false  and  exclusive  idea  which 
regards  the  mission  of  the  prophet  as  consisting  solely 
in  the  revelation  of  the  future.  He  was  as  truly  the 
man  of  the  law  as  of  the  promise.  The  Hebrew  word 
by  which  he  is  designated  signifies,  essentially,  ser- 
vant, witness  of  God.  God  not  only  said  to  the 
prophets,  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,"  but 
also,  "  Declare  unto  them  my  wrath."  Who  has  ever 
pronounced  more  terrible  anathemas  against  sinners 
than  the  prophets  ?  Who  has  painted  the  iniquity  of 
Israel  with  more  frightful  colors  ?  To  use  their  own 
9 


98  THE   REDEEMER. 

figures,  "  they  write  the  sin  of  Judah  with  a  pen  of 
iron,  and  with  the  point  of  a  diamond  ;  they  grave 
it  upon  the  table  of  the  people's  heart,  and  upon  the 
horns  of  their  altars."  Jer.  xvii.  1.  If  they  call  upon 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  to  keep  silence,  it  is  to  tell 
them  of  the  acts  of  ingratitude  committed  by  Israel. 
The  Lord  hath  put  in  their  hand,  which  is  that  of  the 
law,  the  cup  of  his  anger,  and  they  make  all  the  na- 
tions drink  of  it  ;  Jerusalem  first,  the  cities  of  Judah, 
her  kings,  her  principal  men,  Pharaoh  king  of  Egypt, 
all  the  mingled  people  of  Arabia,  Edom,  Moab,  Tyre, 
Sidon,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  North.  Jer.  xxv. 

But  at  the  same  time  that  the  prophets  prophesy 
against  the  sinner,  according  to  the  commandment  of 
God,  they  also  announce  the  wonders  of  divine  com- 
passion. They  fill  out  the  picture  of  the  expected 
future,  and  represent  this  future  with  colors  so  exact, 
that  at  times  they  seem  rather  to  be  relating  facts 
that  are  past,  than  to  be  predicting  future  events. 
Let  us  take  up  the  prophecy  concerning  the  Messiah 
where  we  left  it.  It  was  speaking  to  us  last  by  the 
mouth  of  Jacob.  We  know,  since  the  promise  given 
in  Eden,  that  the  Saviour  is  to  be  a  son  of  man.  We 
have  learned  from  what  family  he  should  spring;  it 
is  the  family  of  Judah.  In  the  family  of  Judah  he 
will  come  from  the  root  of  Jesse  ;  he  will  be  a  son  of 
David.  But  prophecy  is  not  satisfied  with  indicating 
his  genealogy.  It  describes  to  us  his  mission.  The 
first  oracles  confined  themselves  to  broad  generalities. 
They  spoke  only  of  a  triumph  over  evil,  of  a  blessing 
to  be  extended  over  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  With 
Moses,  prophecy  advances  a  step  :     "  The  Lord  thy 


PREPARATION  FOB    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.  99 

God  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  Prophet  from  the  midst 
of  thee,  of  thy  bretliren,  like  unto  me  ;  unto  him  ye 
shall  hearken."  Deut.  xviii.  15.  We  have  here  not 
only  the  deliverer,  we  have  also  the  prophet,  the  wit- 
ness of  God,  the  revealer.  With  David  the  prophecy 
becomes  yet  more  precise.  He  is  not  only  prophet,  he 
is  moreover  king.  ''  I  have  set  my  King  upon  my  holy 
hill  of  Zion.  Thou  art  my  Son  ;  this  day  have  I  be- 
gotten thee.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  hea- 
then for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth  for  a  possession."  Ps.  ii.  6-8.  Quickly  it  is 
no  longer  merely  the  prophet  and  the  king  who  is  set 
before  us  :  there  stands  the  victim  :  "  He  shall  grow 
up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of 
diy  ground  :  he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness.  He  is 
despised  and  rejected  of  men  ;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our 
griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows.  He  was  wounded  for 
our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities. 
It  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he  hath  put  him 
to  grief:  when  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering 
for  sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days. 
He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul.  By  his 
knowledge  shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many." 
Isa.  liii.  Triumph  by  suffering,  salvation  proceeding 
from  the  death  of  the  just, — in  this  thought  the  gospel 
and  the  first  promise  are  united  together  ;  it  is  truly 
the  serpent  crushed  by  the  heel  which  he  had  bruised. 
And  here  we  ought  to  pause  a  moment,  my  breth- 
ren, to  consider  the  enveloping  form  of  prophecy.  It 
is  very  important  to  obtain  a  just  conception  of  this 
in  order  not  to  materialize  the  oracles  of  God.     The 


100  TUE   REDEEMER. 

prophetic  form  is  essentially  symbolical.  The  proph- 
et paints  the  future  with  the  lineaments  of  the  pres- 
ent, with  the  colors  and  the  imagery  furnished  by  the 
country  and  the  age  to  which  he  belongs.  It  is  the 
only  method  by  which  he  can  be  understood.  The 
customs  of  his  people,  known  events,  compose  for  him 
a  rich  and  brilliant  language,  by  means  of  which  he 
reproduces  the  revelations  which  he  has  received. 
Literal  interpretation  of  prophecy  is  therefore  non- 
sense ;  for  it  confounds  the  signs  with  the  things  signi- 
fied, words  with  ideas,  the  garment  with  the  body. 
More  than  this  :  in  general  the  prophet  speaks  of  near, 
immediate  events  ;  but  the  prophetic  spirit  circulates 
in  some  sort  through  all  his  words  ;  these  events  be- 
come the  type  of  other  events  of  a  scope  infinitely  more 
important.  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  overthrow  of  Jerusa- 
lem, describes  the  end  of  the  world  ;  the  two  prophe- 
cies are  as  if  intertwined.  The  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  upon  the  earth  was  announced  to  the 
Israelites  under  the  figure  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan. 
The  prophets  of  the  epoch  at  which  we  have  now  ar- 
rived represent  the  future  destinies  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  under  the  image  of  the  Jewish  theocracy.  Zion, 
her  temple,  her  worship,  her  history,  furnishes  them 
with  the  most  admirable  symbols.  To  take  their  de- 
scription literally  is  to  transport  the  prose  of  our  pale 
Occident  into  the  brilliant  and  poetical  East.  When 
the  prophets  speak  of  the  Messiah,  they  speak  of  him 
also  in  a  symbolical  manner.  We  do  not  doubt  that 
the  Psalms  which  relate  to  him  are  to  be  applied  at 
first  to  David,  to  Solomon,  to  the  Israelitish  king  ;  but 
as  the  Messiah  was  to  be  pre-eminently  the  King  of 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         101 

Israel,  these  Psalms  applied  in  a  higher  sense  to  Jesus 
Christ.  All  Judaism  tends  to  him  and  prophesies  of 
him.  Never  is  this  latent  prophecy  exhausted  by  facts 
of  the  present  time  ;  all  relate  to  him  ultimately.  This 
simple  thought  is  calculated  to  refute  many  forced  in- 
terpretations which,  in  order  to  make  such  a  passage 
in  the  New  Testament  square  with  such  another  in  the 
Old,  do  violence  to  the  text.  The  positive  prophecies 
which  relate  only  to  the  Messiah  have  always  a  typical 
vail  ;  the  Messiah  is  sometimes  called  David,  sometimes 
Cyrus.  It  is  in  like  manner  with  the  predictions  which 
relate  to  the  development  of  the  work  of  salvation. 
The  return  from  exile  represents  that  which  was  for- 
merly represented  by  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  —  the 
consolation  and  triumph  of  the  people  of  God.  Natu- 
rally God's  people  is  styled  Israel  by  the  prophet  ;  in 
later  days  they  shall  be  called  the  Church.  That  beau- 
tiful name  is  not  for  ever  the  exclusive  privilege  of  the 
descendants  of  Abraham.  The  prophets  themselves, 
in  announcing  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit,  declare  that 
the  time  shall  come  when  "  all  the  ends  of  tlie  world 
shall  remember  and  turn  unto  the  Lord  :  and  all  the 
kindreds  of  the  nations  shall  worship  before  thee." 
Ps.  xxii.  27.  A  new  people  shall  be  born  to  be  a  wit- 
ness of  this  great  spectacle.  With  regard  to  the  proph- 
ecies that  treat  of  the  final  future  of  the  church,  we 
leave  them  apart,  as  not  entering  into  our  subject. 
We  are  deeply  persuaded  that  the  same  method  of  in- 
terpretation ought  to  be  applied  to  them.  Let  us  add 
that  this  spirituality  of  interpretation  prevents  us  in 
no  respect  from  admitting  that  the  kingdom  of  God  will 
be  triumphantly  established  in  the  outer  world  also  ; 

9* 


102  THE   REDEEMER. 

the  new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  are  a  reality  to  our 
minds. 

In  the  fruitful  epoch  of  David  and  the  four  great 
prophets,  revelation  gained  a  wonderful  development. 
Never  did  the  law  fulfill  its  fearful  mission  with  greater 
energy.  Never  did  prophecy  awaken  by  clearer  pre 
dictions  the  hope  of  forgiveness.  It  remains  for  us  to 
learn  whether  this  twofold  word  of  God  was  understood 
and  received  by  man  ;  or,  in  other  phraseology,  did  rev- 
elation attain  its  end  ?  We  have  in  our  sacred  books 
the  most  beautiful  and  touching  proofs  that  if  God  has 
spoken,  man,  under  the  influence  of  his  Spirit,  has 
heard  and  understood.  The  life  of  the  saints  of  the 
old  covenant,  that  humble  and  pious  life  of  faith,  im- 
pressed with  a  character  of  such  patient  submission 
during  their  long  period  of  expectation,  is  already  an 
answer  to  God's  appeals.  But  there  is  a  part  of  the 
Old  Testament  which  introduces  us  into  the  inner  life 
of  these  saints  ;  it  is  no  longer  merely  the  word  of 
God  resounding  from  heaven  ;  it  is  its  vibrating  echo  in 
the  heart  of  man.  The  predictions  of  the  inspired 
writers  are  as  if  intersected  by  the  effusions  of  their 
believing  souls.  There  is,  first,  the  bitter  plaint  of 
Job,  that  song  of  desolation  in  which  the  afflicted  of 
all  ages  have  mingled  their  tears  together.  Who  has 
ever  bewailed  human  misfortune  like  Job  ?  Who  has 
more  truly  revealed  its  depths  ?  "  Let  the  day  perish 
wherein  I  was  born,  and  the  night  in  which  it  was  said, 
There  is  a  man  child  conceived."  Job  iii.  3.  Then 
follows  the  melancholy,  disconsolate  lamentation  of 
the  preacher  :  "  Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity."  The 
sorrowful  contrasts  of  human  life  were  sufficiently  un- 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.         103 

derstood.  Can  the  sense  of  sin  be  better  expressed  than 
in  these  words  :  "All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray; 
we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way  "  ?  Isa.  liii.  6. 
You  recognize  the  voice  of  Isaiah.  Listen  to  the  proph- 
et of  sorrows,  seated  on  the  smoking  ruins  of  his 
Jerusalem,  and  speaking  in  the  name  of  his  people  : 
"  I  am  the  man  that  hath  seen  affliction.  Mine  eyes 
do  fail  with  tears.  Behold,  0  Lord,  for  I  am  in  dis- 
tress ;  mine  heart  is  turned  within  me  ;  for  I  have 
grievously  rebelled."  Lam.  iii.  1.  Listen  to  one  of 
the  later  prophets  spreading  out  his  soul  before  God  : 
"  0  Lord,  the  great  and  dreadful  God,  we  have  sinned, 
and  have  committed  iniquity,  and  have  done  wickedly, 
and  have  rebelled.  0  Lord,  righteousness  belongeth 
unto  thee,  but  unto  us  confusion  of  faces.  0  Lord,  to 
us  belongeth  confusion  of  face,  to  our  kings,  to  our 
princes,  and  to  our  fathers,  because  we  have  sinned 
against  thee."  Dan.  ix.  5.  But  this  song  of  lamenta- 
tion which  passes  from  one  inspired  mouth  to  another 
does  not  ascend  to  heaven  alone.  The  song  of  hope 
rises  also.  Sometimes  it  is  peaceful,  like  confidence  : 
"  To  the  Lord  our  God  belong  mercies  and  forgive- 
nesses ;  "  sometimes  it  is  still  tinged  with  melancholy. 
After  having  said,  "  I  was  weary  with  forbearing  and 
I  could  not  stay,"  Jeremiah  resumes  :  "  Sing  iinto  the 
Lord,  praise  ye  the  Lord  ;  for  he  hath  delivered  the 
soul  of  the  poor  from  the  hand  of  evil-doers."  Jer. 
XX.  13.  Often  he  is  full  of  energetic  assurance  :  "  The 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and  with 
his  stripes  we  are  healed."  The  suffering  and  the 
hope  that  are  intermingled  in  the  holy  desire  for  salva- 


104  THE   REDEEMEB. 

tion  have  thus  found  this  most  touching  and  most 
sublime  expression. 

But  there  is  one  book  of  the  Old  Testament  which 
discloses  such  feelings  in  a  manner  yet  more  striking. 
This  book,  in  which  the  most  ardent  and  devout  soul 
has  fully  poured  itself  forth,  enables  us  to  read  again 
God's  revelation,  not  now  in  the  table  of  stone,  but  in 
the  light  of  the  emotions  of  a  sanctified  soul.  What 
mind  does  not  think  of  the  Psalms  —  those  immortal 
prayers  which  in  the  most  solemn  hours  of  our  lives 
return  to  us  and  take  their  places  upon  our  lips — as  the 
perfect  expression  of  all  that  man  can  ask  of  God  ? 
The  Psalms  cause  us  to  hear  the  voice  of  elect  hu- 
manity answering  the  appeals  of  God's  love,  and  re- 
counting eagerly,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  that 
which  it  owes  to  the  unwearied  operation  of  grace. 
The  external  action  of  grace  we  have  seen  in  the  insti- 
tutions and  history  of  Israel.  Here  now  we  have  its  in- 
ner action.  Here  is  the  blessed  fruit  of  this  work  of  love. 
In  the  soul  of  David  it  presents  itself  to  us  ;  in  that 
human  soul,  so  vibrating  with  feeling,  which  opens  it- 
self in  such  moving  and  burning  words,  we  hear  the 
sighs  and  the  thanksgivings  of  all  pious  Israelites.  It 
is  in  truth  the  harp  of  Zion.  What  saith  it  to  God  ? 
God  by  the  law,  as  well  as  by  the  severity  of  his  justice, 
designed  to  produce  in  man  the  sense  of  guilt  ;  heark- 
en to  this  ^bitter  lament  of  the  prophet-king,  and  ac- 
knowledge that  God's  purpose  is  fully  attained  :  "  When 
I  kept  silence,  my  bones  waxed  old,  my  moisture  is 
turned  into  the  drought  of  summer.  I  acknowledge 
my  transgressions  ;  and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
Against  thee,  thee  only  have  I  sinned.     Hide  thy  face 


PREPARATION   FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         105 

from  my  sins,  and  blot  out  all  mine  iniquities.  Thou 
desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it  ;  thou 
delightest  not  in  burnt-offering.  The  sacrifices  of 
God  are  a  broken  spirit."  Ps.  xxxii.  3,  4  ;  li.  3,  4, 
9,  16,  17.  The  bruising  of  man's  proud  spirit,  the 
breaking  of  his  heart,  —  is  not  this  the  fullest  accom- 
plishment of  the  purposes  of  God  ?  Sacrifice  is  here 
viewed  in  its  prophetic  import  ;  this  first  aim  of  the  old 
covenant  is  attained  ;  is  its  second  aim  less  realized  ? 
You  know  that  God  wishes  to  develop  the  hope  of 
pardon.  Is  not  this  hope  already  manifested  in  the 
form  of  prayer  which  David  gave  to  his  confession  ? 
His  faith  in  the  reconciliation  is  so  strong  that  he  en- 
joys in  anticipation  the  most  glorious  consequences  of 
the  redemptive  work.  "  Blessed,  "  he  cries  out,  "  is  he 
whose  transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered. 
Blessed  is  the  man  unto  whom  the  Lord  imputeth  not 
iniquity.  I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto  thee,  and  mine 
iniquity  have  I  not  hid.  I  said,  I  will  confess  my 
transgressions  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  thou  forgavest  the 
iniquity  of  my  sin."  Ps.  xxxii.  The  hope  is  as  strong 
as  the  penitence  was  earnest.  Never  till  then  had  faith 
in  salvation  manifested  itself  in  so  precise  a  form. 
Stern  law,  minute  ordinances,  exclusive  priesthood,  rig- 
orous sabbath,  bloody  sacrifices,  your  often  singular 
characteristics  shall  no  longer  be  occasions  of  offense 
to  us.  We  have  before  our  eyes,  in  this  penitent  sin- 
ner, your  signal  justification  ;  and  you,  sacred  ora- 
cles of  the  prophets,  we  will  no  more  charge  you  with 
being  unintelligible.  That  cry  of  hope  reveals  your  po- 
tent action.  At  the  close  of  this,  as  at  the  end  of  the 
preceding  period,  we  perceive  that  the  soul  of  man  has 


106  THE   REDEEMER. 

received  the  divine  seed.  The  Saviour  is  nearer  to  the 
lost  race,  for  the  desire  that  calls  upon  him  is  more 
p()sitive  and  more  fervent.  The  work  of  preparation 
has  taken  an  immense  stride  in  advance. 

And  still  this  was  not  the  last  step.  The  heart  of 
man  is  so  hard  that  the  severest  trials  were  necessary 
in  order  to  break  it.  He  possesses  the  disastrous  art  of 
turning  the  best  gifts  of  God  against  himself.  He  at- 
tempted to  pervert  the  institutions  which  were  in- 
tended to  prepare  for  the  coming  of  the  Saviour.  They 
had  no  other  end.  .  Judaism  may  be  compared  to  a 
vast  ship,  admirably  built,  whose  masts  are  firm,  and 
whose  expanded  sails  only  await  a  favoring  wind. 
Without  the  breath  of  heaven  the  ship  is  of  no  utility  ; 
it  is  but  an  inert  mass.  The  wind  which  should  swell 
the  sails  of  Judaism  was  precisely  the  desire  after 
Christ.  Let  this  desire  disappear,  and  Judaism  would 
be  only  a  vessel,  motionless  and  useless.  Unfortu- 
nately, its  tendency  was  in  this  direction.  The  Jews 
were  wont  to  admire  the  beauty  of  its  outward  appear- 
ance, and  to  forget  that  it  had  no  other  destination  than 
to  bring  them  into  the  haven  of  safety.  They  settled 
themselves  down  in  the  preparatory  economy  as  if  it 
were  the  final  economy.  The  sail  was  not  spread  to  the 
breeze  of  heaven.  It  was  needful,  then,  that  tlie  out- 
ward glory  of  their  institutions  should  be  tarnished, 
that  the  theocracy  should  be  abased  and  humiliated, 
in  order  that  barren  satisfaction  with  the  present  should 
give  way  to  aspirations  after  heaven.  The  humilia- 
tions of  Judaism  are  of  two  kinds.  They  are  connected, 
first,  with  the  political  life  of  the  nation,  and,  secondly, 
with  its  institutions.     The  first  preceded  the  second  ; 


PnEPARATI02T  FOR    THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.         107 

and  this  has  allowed  us  to  embrace  the  prophets  of  the 
time  of  the  captivity  within  the  flourishing  period  of  rev- 
elation. The  decline  of  the  theocracy  begins  with  the 
reign  of  the  son  of  Solomon.  The  schism  which  breaks 
up  the  unity  of  God's  people,  cutting  off  ten  branches 
from  the  sacred  tree,  is  the  first  part  of  the  downfall. 
For  some  time  longer  a  religious  tie,  often  broken  by 
idolatry,  is  maintained  with  the  tribe  of  Judah,  by  the 
ten  separated  tribes.  Two  great  prophets  are  granted 
to  them,  viz.,  Elijah  and  Elisha  ;  their  predictions  have 
not  reached  us,  but  they  were  indomitable  witnesses 
to  the  holiness  of  God  in  days  of  darkness.  This  feeble 
tie  is  quickly  broken.  Tlie  ten  tribes  are  laid  deso- 
late, and  carried  far  away.  But  few  remains  of  them 
are  left,  and  these,  mingling  with  a  mass  of  pagans, 
constitute  the  Samaritan  nation.  The  tribe  of  Judah 
and  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  keep  up  the  true  Israelish 
tradition.  Their  frequent  returns  to  idolatrj^  bring 
upon  them  the  severest  chastisements  of  God.  The 
captivity  of  seventy  years  at  Babylon  is  the  most  re- 
markable. The  return  of  the  exiles,  a  sublime  type  of 
the  spiritual  deliverance  of  mankind,  seems  to  in- 
augurate a  new  era  of  glory.  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  re- 
call to  mind  the  ancient  leaders  of  Israel.  The  insti- 
tutions of  Moses,  more  or  less  forgotten,  flourish  again. 
A  second  temple  is  erected.  But  the  independence  of 
the  Jews  is  not  of  long  duration.  They  undergo  the 
fluctuations  in  the  history  of  Asia  which  followed  the 
successive  partitions  of  the  empire  of  Alexander.  The 
heroic  sword  of  the  Maccabees  delivers  them  for  a  time 
from  the  yoke  of  the  stranger,  but  soon  it  falls  upon 
them  again  with  greater  weight.    The  Roman  suprem- 


108  THE   REDEEMER. 

acy  enfolds  them  within  that  immense  chain  which 
was  enveloping  almost  the  entire  known  world.  A 
proconsul  enforces  respect  for  the  Roman  eagles  in  the 
city  where  David  and  Solomon  reigned.  It  is  a  terri- 
ble humiliation  for  that  people  whose  patriotism  rose 
to  the  pitch  of  fanaticism.  Their  spiritual  humilia- 
tions were  yet  greater.  The  visible  glory  of  Jehovah  no 
more  appeared  in  the  second  temple.  Prophecy  ceased 
after  the  twelve  minor  prophets.  There  were  disser- 
tations on  morals,  like  the  Book  of  Wisdom,  but  the 
breath  of  the  Spirit  is  not  in  their  learned  and  sensible 
pages.  The  temple  still  remains,  the  ceremonies  are 
regularly  accomplished  there  every  day,  the  multitude 
pours  into  it  on  the  great  feast-days  ;  but  it  is  now  only 
a  magnificent  monument  of  the  past  :  revelation  is  silent. 
What  humiliation  must  have  been  experienced  by  the 
Jews  living  at  that  sad  epoch,  as  they  compared  them- 
selves with  their  predecessors  !  What  a  difference  be- 
tween the  voice  of  the  doctors  of  the  law  and  the 
powerful  voice  of  the  prophets  !  We  shall  have  oc- 
casion, when  we  come  to  the  life  of  the  Saviour,  to  de- 
pict more  fully  the  state  of  Judaism  at  this  period. 
We  have  said  enough  to-day  to  lead  you  to  perceive  to 
what  extent  it  had  fallen.  This  very  decline  pro- 
moted the  purposes  of  God  in  a  wonderful  way.  It 
perfected  the  preparatory  work. 

Forget  not,  my  brethren,  that  if  prophecy  was  silent, 
the  mighty  voice  of  the  old  prophets  did  not  cease  to 
resound  in  Jerusalem.  The  contrast  between  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  Jews  and  the  sublime  future 
promised  to  them  was  of  a  nature  to  develop  an  inex- 
pressible desire  for  the  Deliverer.     It  was  impossible 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         109 

to  be  satisfied  with  institutions  which  had  not  pre- 
vented the  enslavement  of  Judaea.  Their  looks  were 
necessarily  directed  forward.  It  was  with  the  Jews  of 
that  day  as  it  had  been  with  their  fathers  in  the  wil- 
derness upon  the  borders  of  Canaan.  The  weariness 
induced  by  that  burning  sky,  that  arid  sand,  that 
naked  and  mournful  land,  urged  them  to  anticipate  in 
their  wishes  the  happy  moment  when  they  should 
enter  the  fertile  and  smiling  country.  We  have  in 
the  gospel  itself  the  evidence  of  this  universal  expec- 
tation. As  soon  as  a  man  ap'pears  giving  himself  out 
to  be  the.  Messiah,  he  is  eagerly  followed.  John  the 
Baptist,  the  humble  and  courageous  forerunner,  is 
taken  for  the  Deliverer.  "  Art  thou  he  who  should 
come  ?"  is  the  inquiry  which  meets  him  from  all  quar- 
ters. Doubtless,  with  the  mass  of  the  people  such  de- 
sires are  gross  and  material  ;  but  they  show  that  the  pre- 
paratory work  is  drawing  to  a  close.  Moreover,  there 
are  souls  in  whom,  as  upon  an  altar  preserved  from 
every  profane  touch,  there  is  burning  the  pure  flame 
of  a  true  desire  after  salvation.  Their  number  is  not 
great,  —  be  not  astonished  at  this,  —  the  seed  of  the 
serpent  is  always  in  the  majority  here  below  ;  but  these 
few  souls  are  not  the  less  the  veritable  humanity,  the 
humanity  according  to  God.  Their  spiritual  develop- 
ment is  the  fairest,  tlKî  most  perfect,  fruit  of  the  work 
of  preparation.  It  shows  that  the  elect  humanity  is 
ready  to  receive  and  to  bring  forth  the  Divine  Son  who 
should  crush  the  head  of  the  enemy.  And  here,  my 
brethren,  we  are  not  reduced  to  suppositions.  We 
have  positive  proofs  in  the  gospel.  Behold  in  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Lord  those  two  aged  men  who  are  waiting 

10 


110  THE   REDEEMER. 

for  the  hope  of  Israel  with  such  confidence  that  they 
know  they  shall  not  die  until  they  have  seen  the  Sa- 
viour with  their  eyes.  Read  the  canticle  of  Zachariah 
at  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist  ;  read  the  song  of 
Simeon  when  he  takes  the  child  Jesus  in  his  arms  ; 
you  will  acknowledge  that  never  in  the  past  was  the 
desire  for  salvation  expressed  in  so  admirable  a  man- 
ner. There  is  no  longer  any  vagueness  in  the  lan- 
guage. It  touches  directly  upon  the  salvation  "  pre- 
pared before  the  face  of  all  people  ;  a  light  to  lighten 
the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of  the  people  Israel."  The 
sufferings  of  Christ  are  partly  seen  ;  they  are  symbolized 
in  the  sword  which  shall  pierce  the  heart  of  Mary. 

The  mother  of  Jesus  Christ  is  herself  the  most  touch- 
ing proof  that  the  preparation  is  completed,  for  she  ap- 
pears to  us,  in  her  feelings  and  disposition,  as  if  the 
personification  of  the  elect  humanity  destined  to  re- 
ceive the  Saviour.  Do  not  fear,  my  brethren,  lest  we 
fall  into  any  superstitious  notion.  We  reject  with  indig- 
nation the  worship  of  the  mother  of  Christ.  However 
lively  this  indignation,  we  are  persuaded  that  it  can  not" 
equal  that  which  would  be  felt  by  Mary,  were  she  to  see 
her  image  upon  the  altar.  But  we  firmly  believe  that 
she  offered  to  divine  grace  a  soul  well  prepared  to  re- 
ceive it,  and  that  she  was  to  such  an  extent  full  of  hope 
and  desire  for  salvation,  that  she  represented  our  poor 
fallen  race  on  the  day  in  which  she  received  the  divine 
child  into  her  womb.  Herein  is  the  reason  why  the 
new  dogma  proclaimed  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome  aims  a 
blow  at  the  fundamental  principle  of  Christianity.  In 
truth,  if  the  mother  of  Jesus  Christ  was  not  truly  a 
daughter  of  man,  if  she  did  not  really  pertain  to  our 


PREPARATION  FOR   THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.         HI 

poor  fallen  humanity,  Jesus  Christ  has  not  taken  on 
him  the  nature  of  man  ;  he  could  not  be  the  Mediator  ; 
he  is  not  the  Son  of  man,  but  the  son  of  I  know  not 
what  fantastic  humanity,  dwelling  in  a  cloud  between 
heaven  and  earth.  There  was  not  the  necessary  agree- 
ment between  God  who  bestows  and  the  human  soul 
which  receives  his  gifts  with  the  joy  and  eager  delight 
of  a  holy  desire.  The  desire  for  salvation  would  not 
have  been  apprehended  on  the  part  of  Mary,  if  she  had 
not  been  a  sinful  creature.  It  is  precisely  because, 
after  having  sinned,  she  wept  over  her  wretchedness, 
and  longed  for  the  Deliverer,  that  it  became  possible 
for  her  to  be  chosen  to  conceive  him  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  She  was  judged  worthy  to  be  the 
mother  of  the  Saviour  only  on  account  of  the  profound 
sense  which  she  had  of  her  unworthiness.  0  virgin 
of  Nazareth,  if  thou  hast  been  blessed  among  all  wo- 
men, it  is  because  thou  hast  been  the  humblest  of  all. 
Humble  was  thy  position  ;  daughter  of  the  kings  of  thy 
people,  thou  didst  hide  in  obscurity  thy  high  descent, 
and  didst  represent  in  thy  lowliness  the  salutary  low- 
liness of  thy  nation.  Humble  was  thy  soul,  and  the 
song  in  which  thou  dost  disclose  to  us  its  sentiments 
is  the  purest  and  most  spiritual  expression  of  this  de- 
sire after  salvation,  of  which  thou  offerest  to  us  the  full 
maturity  :  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my 
spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour."  Luke  1 :  46, 
47.  You  understand  her,  it  is  of  the  Saviour  that 
she  speaks  ;  he  is  not  now  merely  to  her  eyes  the  king, 
the  prophet,  the  propitiation  ;  he  is  all  that  at  once. 
He  is  the  Saviour.  "  For  he  hath  regarded  the  low 
estate  of  his  handmaiden."     Here  is  the  world  of  hu- 


1  1 2  THE   REDEEMER. 

miliation,  waited  for  during  so  many  centuries.  Let 
not  Mary  be  despoiled  of  the  sense  of  this  lowliness. 
In  order  to  lead  man  to  confess  it,  God  has  not  ceased 
to  beat  him  down  to  his  feet.  "  He  hath  scattered  the 
proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts.  He  hath  put 
down  the  mighty  from  their  seats."  Satan  is  van- 
quished ;  these  words  must  convince  him  of  it,  for  hu- 
manity acknowledges  its  nothingness  by  the  mouth  of 
Mary,  and  weeps  over  its  revolt.  "  He  hath  exalted 
them  of  low  degree."  The  lowly,  the  humble,  —  these 
are  the  chosen  of  God  ;  and  it  is  because  she  is  in  this 
blessed  low  state  that  she  is  able  to  add,  "  He  re- 
members his  mercy."  Yes,  he  did  remember  it.  Al- 
ready has  the  angel  Gabriel  announced  to  her  the  birth 
of  her  Saviour.  She  confesses,  in  the  name  of  our 
fallen  race,  her  lowliness  and  her  condemnation  ;  she 
has  clearly  seen  the  mercy  of  her  God.  The  times  are 
ripe  ;  nothing  further  remains  to  be  added  to  the  de- 
sire for  salvation  ;  and  therefore  is  she  already  bear- 
ing in  her  womb  the  divine  seed  promised  to  humanity 
so  many  ages  since. 

It  would  now  only  remain  to  us,  my  brethren,  to 
trace  out  before  you  the  life  of  Christ,  if  we  had  not 
still  to  show  you  how,  in  a  less  direct  manner,  God 
had  prepared  men  outside  of  Judaism  to  long  for  the 
Deliverer.    This  will  be  the  object  of  our  next  discourse. 

I^  seems  to  us  that  the  conclusion  of  this  discourse 
is  an  earnest  appeal  to  our  souls  to  be  converted.  This 
immense  work  of  preparation  which  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  unfold  before  your  eyes  had  for  its  end  the  sal- 
vation of  each  one  of  you  ;  yes,  my  brother,  whoever  you 
are,  though  you  should  be  the  most  wretched  and  the 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         113 

most  worthless  of  men,  God  was  thinking  of  thy  soul  dur- 
ing all  the  course  of  the  ancient  dispensation.  Toward 
that  the  endless  chain  of  his  revelations  was  tending. 
It  is  thy  salvation  which  he  was  preparing  from  the 
very  first  days,  beneath  the  trees  of  Eden,  when  he 
promised  to  Adam  the  divine  seed  that  should  crush 
the  serpent's  head.  It  is  thy  salvation  which  he  was 
preparing  during  the  patriarchal  epoch  when  he  con- 
versed with  Abraham,  and  when  the  angel  of  his 
presence  broke  bread  with  him  at  Mamre,  and  when 
he  wrestled  with  Jacob  near  the  brook.  It  is  thy 
salvation  which  he  was  preparing  in  the  chosen  people, 
in  their  deliverances  and  in  their  chastisements,  in  the 
wilderness  as  well  as  in  the  promised  land.  It  is  thy 
salvation  which  he  was  preparing  when  from  the  top  of 
Sinai  he  revealed  his  terrible  law,  and  when  by  the 
mouth  of  Moses  he  announced  the  great  prophet  who 
should  save  his  people.  It  is  thy  salvation  which  he 
was  preparing  at  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  in  the  solemn 
feasts,  and  in  those  numberless  ordinances  which  were 
designed  to  engrave  on  the  lieart  of  Israel  the  thought 
which  had  induced  him  to  choose  them  for  his  people. 
It  is  thy  salvation  which  he  was  preparing  by  the  ora- 
cles of  his  great  prophets,  by  the  penitential  tears  of 
David,  as  well  as  by  the  burning  and  lofty  hymn  of 
Isaiah.  It  is  thy  salvation  which  he  was  preparing  in 
the  glories,  as  in  the  reverses  of  the  theocracy  ;  amid 
the  ruins  of  Jerusalem,  as  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon. 
It  is  thy  salvation  which  he  was  preparing  in  the  final 
humiliations  of  Jerusalem,  when  the  victorious  stran- 
gers were  trampling  upon  its  sacred  soil.  If  God,  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ,  hath  worked  from 

10* 


114  THE  REDEEMER. 

the  beginning  of  the  world,  it  is  for  thee,  my  brother. 
His  eye  beheld  thee  in  thy  obscurity,  hidden  in  the 
generation  to  which  thou  belongest.  The  salvation 
which  he  was  preparing  was  not  a  collective  salvation  ; 
it  was  an  individual  salvation,  it  was  salvation  for  thee. 
And  now  it  is  for  thee  to  decide  if  the  work  of  so  many 
centuries  shall  be  in  vain.  In  refusing  to  be  converted, 
thou  wilt  cause  it  to  be  in  vain  according  to  the 
measure  of  thine  ability.  Thou  wilt  render  it  abortive 
for  thy  soul.  It  would  be  in  vain  that  God  during 
four  thousand  years  has  smitten,  blessed,  humbled, 
raised  up  humanity.  My  brother,  would  you  requite 
such  persevering  love  by  such  ingratitude  ?  Are  you 
willing  to  break,  to  destroy  the  plan  of  the  divine  com- 
passion ?  Are  you  willing  to  strike  with  sterility  so 
many  revelations,  and  so  many  prophecies  ?  Shall  it 
be  in  vain  that  the  arm  of  the  Lord  has  been  revealed 
with  so  great  power,  that  his  mouth  hath  spoken  with 
accents  so  paternal  ?  In  vain  !  No,  that  is  not  possible  ; 
others  will  receive  the  salvation  which  thou  wilt  have 
despised.  It  shall  be  with  thee  as  with  those  Israelites 
who,  after  forty  years' journeying  in  the  wilderness, 
fell  dead  upon  the  borders  of  Canaan.  Already  were 
they  beholding  the  wonderful  countries,  already  their 
foot  touched  the  soil  ;  but  they  disbelieved  God,  and 
their  long  pilgrimage  resulted  only  in  the  most  cruel 
deception.  Since  the  work  of  preparation  is  finished, 
we  are  dwelling  upon  the  frontiers  of  the  spiritual  Ca- 
naan. Are  we  willing  to  fall  there,  like  the  unbeliev- 
ing Israelites  ?  Ah  !  let  us  rather  confess  that  God 
has  done  everything  to  enable  us  to  gain  entrance  ; 
let  us  suffer  ourselves  to  be  persuaded  by  these  revela- 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         115 

tions  without  number  which  have  brought  us  to  the 
threshold  of  the  true  promised  land  ;  and  let  us  enter 
within,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  divine  Joshua, 
blessing  the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob, 
the  God  of  David,  of  Isaiah,  and  of  Daniel,  the  God  of 
Simeon  and  of  Mary,  the  God  of  the  patriarchs,  the 
prophets,  and  the  saints.  To  him  be  the  glory 
throughout  all  ages  for  the  work  which  he  has  accom- 
plished on  our  behalf,  alike  under  the  old  and  under 
the  new  covenant  ! 


CHAPTER  TV. 

THE   PREPARATION   FOR  THE   COMING   OF 
JESUS    CHRIST. 


PREPARATION    AMONG    THE    HEATHEN. 

Acts  xvii.  16-34. 

WE  have  sketched  in  its  great  outlines  the  prepa- 
ration for  the  coming  of  the  Saviour  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  Jewish  people.  To-day  I  shall  call  your  at- 
tention to  a  point  too  much  neglected  ;  I  mean  the 
preparatory  work  in  the  bosom  of  the  pagan  world. 
Here,  as  ever,  the  doctrine  of  Scripture  is  infinitely 
broader  than  the  theology  of  men.  While  exhibiting 
to  us  the  Jews  as  the  only  recipients  of  a  positive  reve- 
lation, Scripture  introduces  other  nations  into  the  vast 
scheme  of  redemption,,  and  shows  to  us  the  finger  of 
God  in  their  history.  "  God,  after  having  made  of  one 
blood  all  nations  of  men,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  to  dwell  on 
all  the  face  of  the  earth,  hath  determined  the  bounds  of 
their  habitation."  Thus  the  historical  development  of 
those  nations,  and  the  very  limits  of  this  development, 
are  appointed  by  God  ;  and  as  all  things  concur,  and 
all  work  together  in  his  hands  to  accomplish  the 
plan  of  salvation,  we  may  be  assured  that  the  his- 
tory of  the  heathen  nations  before  Jesus  Christ  tends 
to  prepare  the  way  for  his  coming.     We  shall  not 

116 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         117 

weary  of  repeating  that  the  special  acts  of  election  on 
the  part  of  God  are  for  the  greatest  good  of  humanity, 
which  is  his  chief  election,  whenever  the  purpose  of 
his  love  is  not  brought  to  naught  by  the  persistence  of 
the  race  in  its  rebellions.  No  more  in  the  past  than 
it  is  in  the  present  was  it,  as  a  whole,  given  over  to 
itself.  The  God  of  Abraham  has  not  ceased  to  be  the 
God  of  Adam.  If  he  has  developed  the  desire  for  sal- 
vation among  the  descendants  of  the  patriarchs,  he 
has  also  developed  it,  although  less  directly,  outside 
of  the  favored  people.  We  have  the  most  striking 
proof  of  this  in  the  facility  with  which  Christianity 
was  propagated  in  the  midst  of  the  pagan  world.  It 
might  be  styled  a  conflagration,  which,  because  every- 
thing was  ready  for  the  kindling  of  the  fire,  spread  as 
on  the  wings  of  the  wind  as  soon  as  the  flame  had 
once  burst  forth.  Three  centuries  had  not  passed  away 
before  Christians  are  enabled  to  say  to  the  pagans, 
"We  fill  your  cities,  your  armies  ;  we  are  everywhere." 
Who  does  not  see  that  the  times  were  ripe,  and  that 
the  furrows  had  been  dug  to  receive  the  everlasting 
truth  ?  Unless  it  be  alleged  that  these  were  opened 
entirely  alone,  without  God's  concurrence,  the  opera- 
tion of  grace  must  be  admitted  in  these  favorable  dis- 
positions. If  an  objection  is  made  on  the  score  of 
the  bloody  persecutions,  we  answer  that  the  Jewish 
people  did  more  than  persecute  Christians,  —  they  put 
to  death  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  yet  they  were  the  peo- 
ple of  God.  We  must  in  all  cases  consider,  not  ihe 
unbelieving  masses,  but  the  individuals  who  separated 
themselves  from  the  mass  to  receive  the  appeals  which 
God  addressed  to  them  by  diverse  methods. 


118  THE   REDEEMER. 

We  have  to  determine  the  notion,  and  to  trace  the 
history  of  this  preparation  in  the  midst  of  the  pagan 
world  ;  and,  in  order  not  to  be  led  astray  in  pursuit 
of  vain  suppositions,  we  take  as  our  basis  the  admi- 
rable discourse. of  Paul  at  Ath-ens.  This  discourse  com- 
prehends all  that  we  have  need  to  know  on  this  im- 
portant subject.  We  shall  not,  moreover,  be  saying 
anything  new  ;  our  point  of  view  is  that  of  the  ancient 
Christian  church.  The  fathers  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies proclaim  aloud  that  there  existed  in  pagan  an- 
tiquity a  great  number  of  noble  spirits,  who,  without 
being  conscious  of  the  fact,  were  longing  after  the 
great  Deliverer.  They  gather  up  these  aspirations 
with  care  ;  in  their  Apologies  they  invoke  the  testimony 
of  the  poets  or  philosophers  who,  in  the  midst  of  the 
thickest  darkness,  have  shot  out  one  ray  of  truth.  It 
had  not  yet  been  thought  of  to  consider  the  advent  of 
Christianity  as  a  fact  entirely  isolated  in  the  history 
of  mankind.  Those  great  Christians  of  the  first  cen- 
turies were  persuaded  that  there  is  a  close  relation  be- 
tween the  conscience  and  Jesus  Christ  ;  and  even  while 
pointing  out  with  unrivaled  force  the  shameful  and 
infamous  features  of  paganism,  they  never  failed  to 
bring  out  this  relation  to  the  light.  Tertullian  does 
not  fear  to  cite  the  human  soul  as  a  witness  to  the 
truth  ;  he  goes  so  far  as  to  affirm  that  the  soul  is  natu- 
rally Christian  ;  not  in  the  sense  that  it  can  do  with- 
out regeneration,  but  in  the  sense  that,  when  its  true 
nature  is  not  falsified  by  sophistry,  its  spontaneous  cry 
is  a  prayer  to  the  God  of  the  gospel  :  "  Thou  art  not, 
that  I  know,"  said  he  to  it,  ^'  Christian  by  nature  ; 
thou  canst  not  be  born  Christian  ;  thou  must  become 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         119 

such.  Nevertheless,  Christians  invoke  thy  testimony."* 
Justin  Martyr  goes  farther  ;  he  recognizes  in  serious 
men  of  the  pagan  epoch  a  seed  of  the  Eternal  Word,  —  a 
seed  not  developed,  incomplete,  but  nevertheless  pre- 
cious. "  Every  one,"  says  he,  "  by  the  germ  of  the 
divine  Word  which  is  in  him,  sees  a  part  of  the  truth, 
which  is  harmonious  with  himself."  f  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  in  showing  the  inferiority  of  the  high 
Greek  culture  in  comparison  with  the  Hebrew  revela- 
tion, perceives  therein,  nevertheless,  as  regards  the  parts 
of  truth  comprehended  in  it,  a  gift  of  God.  $  In  so 
far  as  it  has  awakened  the  conscience  slumbering  at 
the  foot  of  the  altars  of  false  gods,  it  has  been  a  school- 
master to  lead  men  to  Christ.  §  It  has  been  like  a  flick- 
ering candle,  and  it  has  only  now  to  go  out  in  presence 
of  the  radiant  sun.  ||  Do  not  forget  this  broad  defense 
of  Christianity  was  the  defense  made  by  martyrs,  and 
this  Justin,  who  was  the  first  amohg  the  fathers  that 
sought  to  harmonize  the  gospel  with  the  better  aspira- 
tions of  the  high  Greek  culture,  died  for  his  faith.  Those 
facts  will  re-assure  you  ;  you  will  understand  that  these 
heroic  defenders  of  Christianity  were  making  no  conces- 
sion to  error,  and  if  they  sought  beneath  the  impure 
wrecks  of  crumbling  paganism  for  some  particles  of 
truth,  it  was  in  the  holy  desire  to  gain  souls  for  Christ 
by  becoming  all  things  to  all  men,  after  the  manner  of 
St.  Paul  ;  and  therefore,  as  if  drawn  by  the  loadstone 
of  a  sympathy  so  genuine,  united  to  a  belief  so  well 
grounded,  sober-minded  men,athirst  for  faith  and  con- 

*  Tertullian,  De  Testimonia  Anim.i  c.  1. 

t  Justin,  Jpologiay  i.  p.  51.  §  Strom.,  ii.  20. 

t  Clement,  Stromata,  ii.  15.    *  H  Strom.,  ii.  63. 


120  THE   REDEEMER. 

solation,  who  had  fruitlessly  made  trial  of  all  the  phi- 
losophies of  their  times,  were  seen  flocking  to  these 
Christian  apologists.  At  Alexandria  a  great  school 
of  catechumens  was  opened,  and  around  the  Clements 
.and  the  Origens  were  gathered  a  crowd  of  pagans,  who 
had  come  from  the  most  remote  portions  of  the  em- 
pire. Instead  of  the  cold  teachers  or  puerile  rhetori- 
cians to  whom  they  had  been  accustomed,  they  had  at 
length  discovered  men  who  comprehended  their  anxie- 
ties, on  account  of  having  passed  through  them,  and 
who  were  able  to  discern  in  the  former  beliefs  of  these 
heathen  that  which  connected  itself  with  and  sustained 
the  new  and  ultimate  faith.  Let  us  take  heed  not  to 
be  narrower  as  regards  doctrine,  and  more  lax  as  re- 
gards practical  concessions  ;  that  is  to  say,  narrower  as 
respects  other  persons,  and  more  lax  as  respects  our- 
selves. It  is  not  allowable  for  Christians  of  our  day 
to  charge  upon  the  Christians  of  the  first  three  centu- 
ries an  exaggerated  spirit  of  concession.  This  reproach, 
proceeding  from  elegant  drawing-rooms,  and  arraign- 
ing that  church  which  was  offered  up  and  crucified  like 
its  Master,  —  such  a  reproach  would  be  a  scandal  ;  it 
would  be  tainted  with  heresy,  for  it  would  strike  at  the 
great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  who  first  opened  the  way 
to  the  fathers  in  his  discourse  at  Athens. 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  our  point  of  view  is  the 
point  of  view  both  of  the  apostolic  church  and  of  the 
church  which  was  in  immediate  contact  with  the 
pagan  world.  The  contrary  opinion,  denying  all  pre- 
paratory work  outside  of  Judaism,  is  a  new  opinion, 
apart  from  the  true  church  tradition,  by  which  I  un- 
derstand the  Biblical  tradition.     It  is  with  eutire  free-- 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         121 

dom  that  I  enter  upon  this  important  subject  which 
concedes  to  the  work  of  preparation,  and  consequently 
to  the  work  of  redemption,  its  full  dimensions.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  ascertain  in  what  manner  God  devel- 
oped the  desire  for  salvation  among  the  two  pagan  na- 
tions which  exerted  the  greatest  influence  upon  the 
destinies  of  the  world  ;  the  names  of  Greek  and  Ro- 
man are  already  on  your  lips.  All  my  statements  will 
be  directly  developed  from  the  language  of  St.  Paul. 
And  first,  I  will  give  a  succinct  analysis  of  his  dis- 
course. Taking  occasion  from  the  altar  to  the  Un- 
known God,  which  he  saw  in  the  city  of  Athens,  he 
seizes  upon  the  religious  want  which  that  fact  sup- 
ports, and,  setting  out  with  the  general  idea  of  the 
Godhead  and  of  man's  relation  to  it,  already  recog- 
nized by  a  pagan  poet,  he  proceeds  to  announce  to 
the  Athenians  the  true  God,  who  can  not  be  compre- 
hended in  a  material  temple,  who  is  nigh  to  every  one 
of  us,  and  who,  after  a  time  of  ignorance,  revealed 
truth  and  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  has  given  in 
him  the  pledge  of  the  resurrection.  I  shall  not  follow 
word  by  word  the  language  of  the  apostle.  I  will 
direct  your  attention  to  those  words  which  expressly 
relate  to  the  preparatory  work  in  paganism. 

But  let  us  make  a  preliminary  remark  :  the  histori- 
cal part  of  revelation  was  not  absolutely  unknown  to  the 
Gentile  nations  ;  this  may  be  everywhere  found  in  its 
main  outlines.  It  might  be  said  that  it  is  with  these  uni- 
versal traditions  as  it  is  with  the  debris  which  the  wa- 
ters of  the  deluge  transported  into  so  many  countries,- 
depositing  them  upon  mountains  and  plains.  In  like 
manner  the  waters  of  the  primitive  emigrations  bore 
11 


122  THE   REDEEMER. 

along  with  them  the  dogmas  of  the  Fall  and  of  redemp- 
tion, often  disfigured  and  perverted,  but  still  discern- 
ible notwithstanding  the  parasitic  vegetation  which 
covered  them  over,  and  at  times  concealed  them.  It 
is  easy  to  believe  that  the  nations  who  were  neighbors 
to  the  chosen  people  preserved  more  fully  those  tradi- 
tions which  are  the  traditions  of  the  entire  human 
family.  Notwithstanding  the  lofty  barriers  which  were 
reared  between  the  different  nationalities,  all  contact 
between  them  could  not  be  prevented.  The  nearer 
we  approach  the  epoch  which  beheld  the  birth  of  the 
Saviour,  the  more  frequent  does  this  contact  become. 
The  vast  monarchy  of  Alexander  in  its  very  dismem- 
berment brought  Europe  and  Asia  together.  The  Ro- 
man empire  rendered  this  collision,  or  rather  commin- 
gling of  ideas  and  of  beliefs,  more  complete  and  universal. 
The  revelation  given  to  the  Jews,  without  being  known 
very  accurately,  was  at  least  diffused  as  an  influence 
in  the  moral  atmosphere  ;  we  ought  never  to  forget  this 
action  of  the  oracles  of  God  ;  though  not  easily  appre- 
ciated, it  was  powerful.  No  one  will  dispute  the  im- 
portance of  this  fact.  But  it  should  not  be  exagger- 
ated, by  alleging  that  there  was  no  other  trace  ot 
divine  operation  in  the  pagan  world  than  these  frag- 
ments entering  gradually  into  the  circulation  of  the 
thoughts  of  that  epoch.  We  believe  that  there  was  a 
preparation  more  direct,  more  inward,  for  developing 
the  desire  of  salvation  ;  and  this  belief  we  hold  in  com- 
mon with  Paul. 

He  quotes  a  very  remarkable  expression  of  a 
profane  author:  "We  are  the  offspring  of  God,"  had 
been  said  by  the  poet  Ai-atus.     The  meaning  which 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF  CHRIST.        123 

the  apostle  gives  to  these  words  is  that  the  filial 
relation  to  the  Creator  subsists  even  among  the 
heathen  ;  that  the  relationship  between  man  and  God 
in  some  degree  had  its  existence  also  among  them. 
From  this  it  ought  to  be  inferred  that  the  heathen  na- 
tions were — though,  doubtless,  less  directly  than  the 
chosen  people — under  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  We  are  already  apprized  of  the  manner  in 
which  this  action  of  the  Spirit  must  have  been  exerted. 
To  develop  the  desire  for  salvation  constitutes  the 
entire  preparatory  work.  If  the  heathen  nations  were 
not  forsaken  by  God,  it  follows  that  we  can  authenti- 
cate among  them  the  marks  of  the  desire  for  the  great 
deliverance  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  marks  of  the  sense  of 
condemnation  and  of  the  hope  of  pardon.  I  shall  not 
repeat  that  which  we  said  concerning  man  in  general, 
while  establishing  the  truth  that  everything  in  his  in- 
ward and  oufward  condition  brings  before  him  his  fall 
and  speaks  to  him  of  hope.  The  point  now  before  us 
relates  not  to  man  in  all  ages  and  in  all  places,  but  to 
the  heathen.  The  question  to  be  solved  is  this, — 
Were  there  evidences  among  the  heathen  of  a  desire, 
more  or  less  developed,  for  salvation  ?  The  quotation 
from  St.  Paul  is  sufficient  as  furnishing  us  with  an 
affirmative  answer,  and  is  the  more  conclusive  because, 
in  recognizing  this  paternity  of  God,  and  consequently 
this  operation  of  his  Spirit  in  paganism,  St.  Paul 
relied  upon  positive  proofs  drawn  from  the  life  of  the 
brethren  themselves.  He  rested  upon  that  which  he 
had  seen  in  that  very  city  of  Athens.  He  had  been  struck 
by  four  characteristic  facts  which  bore  tlie  imprint  of 
man's  high  destiny,  and  also  of  his  efforts  fully  to  re- 


124  THE   REDEEMER. 

gain  that  destiny.  What  were  these  facts  ?  What 
was  their  scope  ?  We  are  to  make  these  inquiries  of 
the  apostle. 

And  first,  he  had  perceived,  both  in  the  public  and 
private  life  of  the  heathen,  indisputable  traces  of  the 
moral  law  which  speaks  through  our  consciences. 
Doubtless  corruption  had  superabounded  ;  it  burst 
forth  on  every  side  like  an  impure  torrent,  but  even 
in  cities  the  most  defiled,  the  most  degraded,  the 
moral  sentiment  was  not  entirely  stifled.  So  long  as 
a  society  subsists,  we  may  be  sure  that  there  is 
some  element  of  good  in  its  constitution.  The  total 
absence  of  the  moral  law  would-  be  equivalent  to  the 
annihilation  of  society  ;  there  would  remain  only  a 
disorderly,  frightful  struggle,  without  cessation  and 
without  result,  between  strong  interests  and  savage 
passions.  It  would  be  a  desert  inhabited  by  wild' 
beasts.  There  is  no  society  without  laws,  and  there 
are  no  laws  without  the  idea  of  good  and  evil,  often 
perverted  in  its  applications  in  the  most  deplorable 
manner,  but  nevertheless  proving  that  conscience  yet 
speaks  in  man.  It  was  enough  for  Paul  to  traverse 
even  one  city  like  Athens  to  discover  in  the  social 
bond,  however  imperfect  it  might  be,  a  moral  tie,  and 
consequently  a  tie  of  connecting  men  with  God.  But 
the  moral  sentiment  had  manifested  itself  with  greater 
force  in  the  individual  life.  Had  not  a  part  of  this 
same  Athens  *  spoken  of  those  eternal  laws  in  which 
there  is  a  God  who  groweth  not  old, — laws  of  immuta- 
ble justice,  against  which,  as  against  an  immovable 
rock,  the  unjust  laws  of  men  must  be  broken  ?     Was 

*  Sophocles,  Œdipus  Tyrannus. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.        125 

it  not  beneath  the  shades  of  a  well-known  gar- 
den in  Athens  that  the  most  ideal  of  thinkers  had 
developed  the  purest,  the  most  disinterested  morality? 
Had  he  not  declared  that  it  was  a  thousand  times  bet- 
ter to  be  the  victim  of  the  wicked  man  than  to  be  the 
triumphant  man  of  wickedness  ?  Had  he  not  laid 
down  that  rule  of  conduct  which  seems  to  be  an  echo 
of  the  gospel,  "  We  must  in  all  things  imitate  God  "  ? 
If  very  scandalous  acts  had  carried  sorrow  to  this  city, 
had  it  not  been  the  witness  of  great  acts  of  courage 
and  devotion  ?  Was  it  not  in  one  of  its  prisons  that 
Socrates,  unjustly  condemned,  had  refused  to  fly,  be- 
cause he  would  not  be  guilty  of  even  a  slight  false- 
hood ?  and  was  it  not  here  that  he  had  drained  the 
cup  of  poison,  to  obey  God  rather  than  men,  as  he  had 
said  himself?  How  many  other  facts  occurring 
among  the  nations  of  antiquity  had  proved  that  the 
voice  of  conscience  was  not  dumb  !  These  recollec- 
tions pressed  upon  the  soul  of  Paul  when  he  said  to 
the  Athenians,  "  We  are  the  offspring  of  God." 

I  know  well  in  what  way  some  men  have  got  rid  of 
the  virtues  exhibited  by  the  heathen  world.  They  re- 
peat the  famous  expression,  "  These  are  brilliant  sins." 
If  it  is  meant  by  this  that  such  virtues  are  mingled 
with  sins,  we  fully  admit  it  ;  if  any  go  the  length  of 
alleging  that  these  virtues  have  no  reality,  and  that 
they  are  but  a  false  picture  of  virtue,  we  deny  it  ;  we 
deny  it  with  St.  Paul,  who,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans, declares  that  the  Gentiles  often  show  that  that 
which  is  written  in  the  law  is  written  in  their  hearts. 
Rom.  2 :  15.  The  law  in  their  hearts  is  the  same 
with  that  which  thundered  on  Sinai  ;  and  when  it  is 
11* 


126  THE   REDEEMER. 

manifest  in  their  lives,  it  accomplishes  the  same  mis- 
sion. It  discloses  the  heavy  darkness  of  evil,  which  it 
illumines  as  with  a  flitting  ray  of  light  ;  it  awakens 
that  aspiration  after  the  just  and  the  holy  which  lies 
at  the  bottom  of  the  human  heart.  It  has  also  its 
prophetic  aspect  ;  for  the  manifestations  of  good  in 
paganism,  its  acts  of  heroism,  of  development,  were 
like  those  wondrous  fruits  which  were  one  day  brought 
from  the  promised  land  to  the  people  of  Israel  while 
still  wandering  in  the  wilderness.  There  is  hope  for 
the  future.  The  conscience  is  a  title  of  nobility 
which  does  not  confer  the  right  of  mourning  a  rank 
lost  by  the  Fall,  but  it  confirms  in  a  striking  manner 
the  words  of  the  apostle  to  the  Athenians  :  "  We  are 
the  offspring  of  God." 

Paul  had  also  read  these  words  upon  each  one  of 
the  numberless  altars  which  filled  the  most  brilliant 
city  of  Greece  ;  and  this  is  the  second  of  the  char- 
acteristic facts  of  which  w^e  have  spoken.  "  Men  of 
Athens,"  says  the  apostle,  at  the  opening  of  his  dis- 
course, "  I  perceive  that  you  are  in  all  things  devout."* 
He  knew  better  than  any  man  to  what  extent  this  de- 
votion was  to  be  deplored,  since  it  spoke  of  those 
forms  of  pagan  worship  which  were  stained  with  so 
many  atrocities,  and  which  burned  incense  before 
such  abominable  divinities.  Paul  had  beheld  the 
famous  Parthenon,  the  magnificent  temple  erected  to 
the  Goddess  Minerva,  near  the  citadel  of  Athens,  in 
which  shone  her  splendid  statue  of  gold  and  ivory. 
He  had  passed  before  the  temple  of.  Jupiter.  From 
the  very  top  of  the  hill  on  which  he  stood,  his  eye 

*  The  true  reading  of  Acts  xvii.  22.  —  Ei>. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         127 

could  embrace  that  multitude  of  statues  and  monu- 
ments, all  erected  for  some  heathen  purpose.  All 
those  gods  were  false  gods,  were  impure  gods.  And 
nevertheless,  the  existence  of  a  religion,  however  de- 
graded, is  a  proof  that  the  idea  of  God  has  still  a 
place  in  man.  I  do  not  repeat  what  I  have  already 
said  on  the  subject  of  sacrifices,  which  are  so  closely 
connected  with  the  belief  in  redemption,  and  which 
would  alone  suffice  to  establish  the  reality  of  the  pre- 
paratory work  in  the  pagan  world.  I  take  the  fact 
that  a  religion  exists  in  its  widest  generality  ;  and  I 
affirm  that  it  fully  justifies  the  language  of  Paul  to 
the  Athenians,  "  Ye  are  the  offspring  of  God."  Not- 
withstanding the  errors,  the  defilements  of  your  my- 
thology, he  could  say  to  them,  I  recognize  in  you  the 
need  of  entering  into  relationship  with  the  Godhead. 
I  know  well  that  you  have  deified  your  passions,  and 
it  is  they  who  sit  enthroned  upon  the  summit  of  your 
sacred  mountains  ;  but  it  is  not  the  less  true  that 
you  can  not  do  without  that  semblance  of  divinity  ; 
you  acknowledge  your  dependence  upon  a  superior 
power.  You  endeavor  to  become  reconciled  with  it. 
It  is  that  power  which  you  fear,  and  which  you  adore 
at  those  times  when  you  enter  within  yourselves,  and 
not  the  infamous  Jupiter  and  his  lustful  cohort. 
Whatever  may  be  your  devotion,  it  discloses  in  you  a 
mysterious  disquietude  with  regard  to  the  wrath  of 
the  Godhead,  and  a  vague  hope  of  appeasing  that 
wrath.  Demons  do  not  rear  temples.  It  is  not  pos- 
sible for  you,  even  in  your  wild  excesses,  to  throw 
off  the  yoke  of  the  idea  of  God  ;  and  by  nothing  is  its 
power  more   clearly  proved  than  by  its  continued 


128  THE   REDEEMER. 

operation,  even  when  you  desire  to  serve  your  passions 
wholly  and  alone.     "  You  are  the  offspring  of  God." 

There  is  a  third  fact  which  we  find  indicated  in  our 
text,  that  is  in  further  confirmation  of  this  strong  ex- 
pression. We  read  in  the  18th  verse,  that  "  certain 
philosophers  "  began  to  speak  with  the  apostle.  I  do 
not  now  inquire  of  what  sect  these  philosophers  were  ; 
I  confine  myself  only  to  their  common  quality  of  phi- 
losophers ;  and  I  remark  that  the  single  fact  of  tlie 
seeking  after  truth  reveals  both  the  fall  of  man  and 
the  hope  of  restoration.  Philosophy  is  a  word  that 
has  a  disagreeable  sound  in  Christian  ears,  because  it 
too  often  recalls  to  our  minds  the  revolt  of  thought 
and  the  pride  of  reason.  Too  often,  especially  since 
the  Christian  era,  has  human  philosophy  been  one  of 
the  most  active  forces  of  anti-Christianity  ;  it  has 
sought  out  much  speech  where  a  right  heart  had  only 
to  believe  and  obey.  It  has  insulted  Jesus  Christ,  or 
has  disdainfully  passed  him  by  as  not  entering  into  its 
systems,  or  it  has  wished  to  make  him  speak  accord- 
ing to  its  behest,  and  to  insinuate  surreptitiously  its 
impious  formulas  under  cover  of  his  divine  word. 
Rarely  has  it  been  down  on  its  knees  before  the  cross, 
with  humility  sounding  the  great  mystery  of  love. 
It  was  quite  otherwise  in  pagan  antiquity.  Philoso- 
phy was  verily  the  search  after  wisdom,  after  truth. 
It  was  in  opposition  to  the  religions  of  the  day,  but 
not  to  religion  itself.  In  many  instances,  it  was  a 
courageous  attempt  to  tear  away  the  vail  from  the 
pagan  myths,  in  order  to  reach  a  purer  idea  of  God. 
It  did  not  attain  to  that,  for,  as  the  apostle  has  said, 
these  are  things  which  do  not  rise  up  from  the  heart 


PREPARATION   FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         129 

of  man.  Philosophy  became  at  times  the  unworthy 
accomplice  of  moral  corruption,  by  assigning  it  a  posi- 
tion of  legitimacy.  In  antiquity,  the  sophists  were 
its  scourge.  But  when  we  view  it  in  the  hands  x)f  a 
Socrates  or  a  Plato,  it  appears  to  us  very  imperfect, 
very  cloudy  with  respect  to  results,  but  very  great  as 
regards  its  aspirations.  It  does  not  have  that  ungov- 
ernable pride  which  denies  the  Fall.  It  admits  it  in 
the  most  touching  manner.  "  Formerly,"  says  Plato, 
"  we  enjoyed  a  delightful  view  and  spectacle  ;  we  were 
initiated  into  mysteries  which  might  be  styled  blessed, 
and  we  celebrated  them  exempt  from  the  imperfec- 
tions and  the  evils  wJiich  awaited  us  in  the  sequel  ; 
we  admired  these  objects,  perfect,  simple,  full  of  re- 
pose and  blessedness,  and  we  contemplated  them  in  a 
pure  light,  ourselves  being  pure.  Pardon,"  he  adds, — 
and  we  may  think  we  see  a  tear  ready  to  fall,  —  "  par- 
don this  tediousness  on  account  of  the  sorrow  awakened 
by  the  remembrance  of  the  spectacle  which  we  then 
enjoyed."  *  I  cite  this  passage  to  show  that  ancient 
philosophy,  notwithstanding  all  its  wanderings,  was 
not  always  a  rationalistic  philosophy,  flattering  human 
pride.  It  preserved,  it  awakened  the  sense  of  man's 
fall,  and  its  very  existence  evinced  in  man  the  hope  of 
one  day  finding  again  the  truth.  A  w^avering  torch, 
agreeably  to  the  figure  of  Clemens  of  Alexandria,!  its 
flickering  light  could  not  take  the  place  of  the  sun  ; 
and  in  this  sense  we  may  say,  "  Where  is  the  wisdom  of 
the  wise  ?  "  But  it  could  reveal  the  darkness,  —  which 
is  already  something  gained,  —  and,  on  account  of  the 

*  Plato,  Phœdrus  ;  or,  Concerning  Beauty. 

t  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  vol.  iii.  p.  22.     Leipsic. 


130  THE   REDEEMER. 

little  light  which  it  gave,  arouse  the  desire  that  the 
morning  star  should  rise.  Faith  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  in  moral  responsibleness,  in  the  good  and 
the  -just,  though  insufficient  to  impart  peace  to  the 
soul,  yet  developed  its  higher  instincts.  With  respect 
to  salvation  itself,  that  is,  absolute  truth,  the  wisdom 
of  the  Greeks,  like  all  human  wisdom,  was  foolish- 
ness ;  but  as  regards  the  preparatory  work,  it  had  a 
great  mission  to  accomplish.  However  numerous 
and  lamentable  were  the  errors  of  those  Grecian  sys- 
tems of  philosophy,  we  ought  not  the  less  to  acknowl- 
edge that  such  seeking  after  truth  brought  to  light 
both  the  necessity  and  the  possibility  of  redemption. 
What  advantage  in  seeking  that  which  one  possesses  ? 
and  why  engage  in  the  pursuit  if  it  were  certain  that 
it  is  irrevocably  lost?  "Offspring  of  God,"  we  will 
exclaim  with  St.  Paul,  even  on  beholding  these  philoso- 
phers of  fallen  humanity,  —  "  offspring  of  God,"  for  if 
thou  hadst  not  in  thy  immortal  soul  the  thirst  after 
truth,  thou  wouldst  not  go  about  to  dig  for  thyself  so 
many  cisterns  which,  although  broken  and  defiled,  are 
the  monument  of  that  holy  desire  after  the  true 
which  consumes  thee  ;  "  offspring  of  God,"  but  fallen, 
for  if  thou  wert  not  fallen,  thou  wouldst  now,  pure 
thyself,  as  one  of  thy  noblest  representatives  has 
said,  be  still  contemplating  in  a  pure  light  those  ob- 
jects of  absolute  truth  which  are  in  their  simplicity 
perfect  and  full  of  blessedness  and  repose.  Fall  and 
restoration,  sorrow  and  hope,  the  desire  for  salvation 
burns  upon  that  profane  soil  ;  the  preparatory  work  is 
there  continued. 

There  remains  a  final  fact  that  might  have  led  Paul 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         131 

to  say,  "  You  are  the  offspring  of  God."  Those  words 
are  not  the  apostle's  own  language  ;  he  appropriated 
them  to  his  use.  He  borrowed  them  from  an  ancient 
poet.  In  truth,  he  expresses  himself  in  these  terms  : 
"  As  certain  also  of  your  own  poets  have  said,  For  we 
are  also  his  offspring."  This  fourth  fact  which  de- 
monstrates the  reality  of  the  preparatory  work  in  the 
pagan  world  is,  then,  poetry  or  art.  I  do  not  wish  to 
exaggerate  the  apostle's  thought  ;  he  certainly  did  not 
intend  to  say  that  poetry  had  directly  assisted  in  bring- 
ing man  back  to  God,  but  indirectly  its  action  has  been 
very  great.  We  know  its  influence,  especially  upon 
that  nativa  land  of  art,  beneath  that  marvelous  sky,  in 
that  country  which  it  seemed  to  have  chosen  for  its  home. 
The  apostle  perceives  that  Greek  poets  had  some  pre- 
conception of  the  truth.  He  borrows  from  them  their 
own  expressions,  in  order  to  paint  the  high  destiny  of 
man.  It  is  a  fact  the  scope  of  which  can  not  be  dimin- 
ished, and  which  had  already  been  remarked  by  Chris- 
tian antiquity.*  Thus,  therefore,  poetry,  or  art  —  to 
speak  in  a  general  way  —  has  had  its  part  in  the  pre- 
paratory work.  And  here,  my  brethren,  from  the  im- 
perfect and  often  corrupt  productions  of  art,  you  must 
be  directed  to  art  itself,  to  the  general  fact  controlling 
all  its  different  manifestations.  Too  often  poetry,  like 
philosophy,  has  intoxicated  the  poor  heart  of  man,  and 
held  him  down  upon  the  earth  by  its  fascinations.  Too 
often  has  poetry  been  like  those  sirens  of  antiquity 
who  thrust  upon  the  rocks  the  wretches  whom  they  had 
seduced,  having  charmed  them  only  in  order  to  effect 
their  ruin.     But  Paul's  citation  is  not  the  less  his  act  ; 

*  Clemens  of  Alexandria,  ii.  p.  G4. 


132  THE  REDEEMER. 

the  poets,  in  his  view,  have  but  expressed  the  high  ori- 
ginal of  man  ;  whence  it  results,  also,  that  it  is  they 
who  have  most  fittingly  bewailed  our  actual  condition. 
In  truth,  from  the  substance  of  all  poetry  and  of  all 
art  proceeds  this  lament  :  "  Man  the  offspring  of  God, 
but  his  offspring  miserably  fallen."  AVe  have  seen 
that  religion,  which  is  the  seeking  after  God,  shows 
that  we  have  lost  him,  but  we  can  find  him  again. 
We  have  seen  that  philosophy,  which  is  the  seeking 
after  truth,  shows  that  we  possess  it  no  longer,  but  that 
it  is,  however,  not  far  from  us.  Poetry  reveals  the 
same  truth  in  another  domain.  Poetry  is  the  endeav- 
or to  attain  the  ideal  on  the  earth,  and  this  ideal  is 
beauty  pre-eminently.  If  you  inquire  of  me  why  we 
seek  for  this,  a  Grecian  philosopher  will  answer  you. 
According  to  Plato,  the  joys  procured  to  us  by  the  few 
traces  of  beauty  which  we  find  here  below  are  a  rem- 
iniscence of  that  which  was  seen  by  the  soul  when  it 
possessed  true  being  ;  *  they  are  the  pale  reflections  of 
that  abode  of  absolute  beauty  in  which  man  formerly 
dwelt.  Poetry  seeks  to  multiply  these,  and  thereby 
recalls  to  mind  our  high  original.  If  this  imperfect 
world  were  our  native  land,  we  should  regret  immor- 
tal beauty  no  more  than  the  bird  of  night  the  day. 
We  seek  to  escape  from  the  real  world  because  it  is 
for  us  a  place  of  exile,  and  we  are  the  offspring  of  God. 
If  our  dungeon  were  closed  round  on  all  sides,  we 
should  sink  to  sleep  between  its  walls.  But  it  is  not 
thus  ;  to  use  a  comparison  of  this  same  Plato,  although 
chained  at  the  bottom  of  the  cave  where  we  are  cap- 
tives, we  perceive  thrown  upon  the  wall,  and  painted 

*  Plato,  Phcedrus. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         133 

there,  some  ravishing  images  of  the  abode  of  perfect 
beauty.  Our  aspirations  toward  that  beautiful  abode 
prove  that  the  fallen  race  is  not  in  a  returnless  exile. 
Whenever  the  poet  or  the  sculptor  seeks  to  give  a 
transparent  reality  to  the  ideal  partly  discerned  by 
him,  a  remembrance  and  a  hope  meet  together  in  his 
work,  and  constitute  its  supreme  beauty.  Sometimes 
the  remembrance  is  bitter,  like  an  inconsolable  sor- 
row :  human  destiny  is  then  depicted  in  its  most  tragic 
forms  ;  the  contrast  between  that  which  it  ought  to  be 
and  that  which  it  really  is,  is  presented  in  a  heart-rend- 
ing manner.  In  the  choruses  of  the  ancient  tragedy, 
more  is  comprehended  than  the  expression  of  private 
griefs  ;  they  send  up  to  heaven  the  great  human  lament, 
the  lament  over  the  Fall.  "  0  wretched  rac€  of  mor- 
tals!"* Such  is  their  mournful  burden.  Special  calam- 
ities are  swallowed  up  in  the  universal  misfortune.  At 
other  times,  it  is  the  ideal  aspect  which  predominates 
in  the  art.  It  shows  the  harmony  of  the  soul  and  the 
body  in  advance  of  beauty  rendered  permanent  in  mar- 
ble or  upon  the  canvas  ;  or  it  enables  us  to  discern  the 
purest  moral  beauty  in  some  sublime  creation.  Does 
not  the  Antigone  of  Sophocles  give  us  a  foretaste  of 
Christian  charity  when  she  justifies  herself  for  having 
done  good  to  her  enemies  by  these  almost  evangelical 
words,  "  I  was  not  born  to  hate,  but  to  love  "  ?  f 
Sometimes,  again,  as  in  the  "Prometheus  Bound"  of 
^schylus,  poetry  prophesies  the  downfall  of  the  pagan 
gods,  and  speaks  of  a  God  in  the  future,  whose  victori- 
ous arrow  shall  pierce  them  upon  Olympus.     It  always 

*  Œdipus,  V.  1216.  t  Antigoiie,  v.  530. 

12 


134  THE   REDEEMER. 

proceeds,  in  these  different  manifestations,  from  tlie 
conscious  sense  of  the  fall  of  man,  and  rushes  on  with 
eager  fancy  toward  the  ideal,  the  realization  of  which 
is  inseparable  from  the  work  of  restoration.  We  can 
therefore  very  easily  understand  that  it  was  a  poet  who 
pronounced  the  noble  words  accepted  by  St.  Paul. 
That  race  which  can  not  remain  peacefully  in  the 
midst  of  present  reality,  or  content  itself  with  its  daily 
bread,  but  which  shakes  off  its  destiny,  like  a  chain,  in 
order  to  create  to  itself  an  ideal  world  of  perfection 
and  beauty,  is  a  divine  race  ;  it  is  not  made  to  be  bent 
toward  the  soil  which  it  tills,  but,  as  another  poet  has 
said,  fallen  from  heaven,  it  is  mindful  of  its  origin. 
A  desire  for  redemption  is  breathed  forth  with  the 
songs  of  the  lyre  of  poetry,  songs  so  full  both  of  sad- 
ness and  of  beauty.  0  Athenians,  your  poets  have  not 
deceived  you  ;  you  still  pertain  to  the  offspring  of  God. 
Thus,  my  brethren,  the  four  most  characteristic  facts 
in  pagan  antiquity  sustain  the  declaration  of  our  text. 
I  know  well  that  these  constantly  appear  in  history 
defiled  with  sin  :  paganism  degraded  devotion  ;  phi- 
losophy frequently  fell  into  the  hands  of  sophists  and 
men  of  pleasure  ;  poetry  and  art  were  fearfully  sullied, 
especially  in  the  later  ages,  by  licentiousness  ;  human 
virtue  was  perverted  by  pride.  Nevertheless,  these 
four  facts,  taken  in  themselves,  give  testimony  to  the 
indestructible  relationship  of  the  human  soul  to  God. 
They  exhibit  to  us  this  relationship  such  as  the  Fall  and 
the  promise  made  it  to  be,  constrained  to  seek  by  pain- 
ful effort  that  which  formerly  belonged  to  it  in  its 
own  right,  but  daring  the  attempt  to  find  it  again  in 
the  name  of  a  mysterious  hope  which  is  the  remote 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.         135 

and  often  enfeebled  echo  of  the  first  promise.  Let  us 
hasten  to  add  that  the  preparatory  work  would  have 
been  insufficient  if  it  had  been  marked  only  by  those 
general  qualities  which  belong  to  all  times  and  all 
countries  during  the  epoch  of  paganism.  A  certain 
desire  for  salvation  was  diffused  in  the  world  at  that  pe- 
riod: it  increased  by  being  expressed.  But  more  than 
this  was  needed  ;  just  as  the  institutions  given  to  the 
Jewish  people  were  interpreted  by  the  events  of  their 
history,  in  like  manner  these  characteristic  facts  of 
pagan  life  revealed  their  deep  import  only  by  means  of 
long  and  repeated  trials.  Agreeably  to  the  image  em- 
ployed by  a  church  father,  the  hard  envelope  which 
concealed  a  savory  fruit  must  be  broken  little  by  little  ; 
tlie  slow  toil  of  centuries  was  necessary  for  that.  The 
often  sorrowful  unfolding  of  the  destinies  of  pagan  hu- 
manity was  the  metliod  of  fulfilling  God's  plan  with  re- 
gard to  the  Gentiles.  That  which  by  consent  has  been 
styled  profane  history,  had  a  divine  purpose  and  end  ; 
from  the  beginning  to  the  close  it  was  ever  aiming,  like 
sacred  history,  to  prepare  for  the  coming  of  the  Re- 
deemer. The  discourse  of  Paul  at  Athens  tlirows  the 
most  vivid  light  on  this  important  point. 

God,  we  read  in  the  26th  verse,  "  has  determined 
the  bounds  of  the  habitation  of  the  nations,  that  they 
should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him, 
and  find  him."  Understand  thoroughly  the  thought  of 
the  apostle,  it  explains  to  us  the  entire  preparatory 
work  in  the  pagan  world.  He  is  evidently  speaking 
here  of  heathen  nations,  for  the  people  to  whom  the 
holy  oracles  were  intrusted  have  not  been  compelled 
to  seek  God  by  feeling  after  him.    It  pleased  God,  then, 


136  THE   REDEEMER. 

that  these  nations  should  be  obliged  to  find  him  by- 
groping.  Did  he  refuse  the  light  of  revelation  to  them 
in  anger  ?  No,  my  brethren  ;  God  never  refuses  to 
impart  truth.  We  firmly  believe  that  if  mankind  as 
a  whole  had  been  capable  of  bearing  at  once  the  full 
brightness  of  the  truth,  it  would  have  been  granted  to 
them  without  delay.  But  human  pride  prevented  the 
speedy  bestowal  of  salvation  ;  that  pride  must  be 
broken.  We  have  seen  by  what  dispensations  it  was 
broken  in  the  chosen  people.  That  which  was  effected 
among  them  by  revelation  was  produced  among  pagans 
by  the  absence  of  revelation,  admirably  characterized 
in  our  text  as  groping  after  God.  In  Judaism  God 
reveals  himself,  but  his  revelation  crushes  the  rebel- 
lious spirit.  In  paganism  ho  does  not  reveal  himself 
in  a  historical  revelation,  and  yet  man,  who  has  gone 
astray  and  is  lost  without  recovery  in  the  labyrinth  of 
his  thoughts,  is  equally  subdued.  Here  it  is  God's 
power,  which  by  manifestation  of  itself  breaks  the  crea- 
ture, more  or  less  given  over  to  himself,  and  convinces 
him  of  his  nothingness.  Thus,  by  different  ways,  the 
preparatory  work  is  identical  ;  and,  when  the  times  are 
fulfilled,  Jews  and  Greeks  find  themselves  alike  hum- 
bled at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  as  it  is  said  that  the  rich 
and  the  poor  meet  together  in  God.  And  if  the  pagan 
is  not  entirely  without  hope,  that  proceeds  from  the  fact 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  has  prophesied  in  his  heart,  as 
he  has  done  by  the  predictions  of  the  Hebrew  propli- 
ets.  At  the  same  time  that  he  was  convinced  of  his 
nothingness,  a  mysterious  voice  spoke  to  him  of  resto- 
ration. From  one  attempt  to  another  to  find  God  by 
feeling  after  him,  man's   humiliation   became   more 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         137 

complete,  and  his  hope  brighter.  From  epoch  to 
epoch,  from  deception  to  deception,  the  desire  for  sal- 
vation was  enkindled  again  and  again  into  a  brighter 
flame. 

The  preparation  for  the  gospel  in  the  pagan  world 
was,  therefore,  according  to  St.  Paul,  a  long  and  crush- 
ing experience  of  human  impotence,  a  series  of  de- 
spairing attempts  to  find  God,  the  stops  of  one  who 
gropes  his  way  toward  the  light.  This  great  work 
terminated  when  man,  weighed  down  with  a  darkness 
almost  as  thick  at  the  end  of  history  as  at  its  begin- 
ning, sent  forth  a  long  cry  of  agony.  If  this  sad  pe- 
riod unrolled  itself  so  slowly,  it  is  to  be  attributed 
only  to  persistence  in  the  illusions  of  pride.  It  is  not 
through  the  good  pleasure  of  God  that  ages  of  dark- 
ness succeeded  to  ages  of  darkness  ;  in  this  prolonga- 
tion of  the  pagan  epoch  we  know  not  which  is  the 
most  incomprehensible, — the  patience  of  divine  love, 
or  the  obstinacy  of  human  pride. 

It  is  im}30ssible  for  us  at  this  time  to  describe  these 
attempts  of  humanity  of  itself  to  find  God  by  feeling 
after  him.  We  shall  confine  ourselves  to  recalling  the 
principal  among  them  to  your  minds.  We  distinguish 
three  periods  in  the  history  of  paganism,  which  are 
three  great  attempts  to  walk  in  this  gloomy  pathway, 
groping  after  God.  Doubtless  all  the  nations  did  not 
at  once  pass  from  one  period  to  the  other.  There  are 
those,  for  instance,  who  are  like  laggards  in  religious 
history,  and  who  have  remained  even  until  now  in 
their  first  endeavor  to  seek  God.  We  put  these  on 
one  side  ;  we  speak  only  of  the  nations  that  played  a 
part  on  the  true  theater  of  history  before  Jesus  Christ. 

12* 


138  THE   REDEEMER. 

Such  passed  through  three  principal  phases.  Mysteri- 
ous thing  !  Their  first  step  was  their  heaviest  fall. 
The  first  groping  of  humanity  after  God  was  the  gross- 
est idolatry.  It  took  for  God  that  which  it  found  be- 
neath its  hand  ;  that  is  to  say,  inert  matter,  or  rather 
nature,  the  outward  world  in  its  seductive  or  terrible 
aspects.  The  religions  of  nature  are  both  voluptuous 
and  sanguinary,  infamous  and  savage  ;  they  adore  the 
power  of  production  as  well  as  the  power  of  destruc- 
tion. The  lustful  Astarte,  and  the  cruel  god  Baal 
to  whom  little  children  were  sacrificed,  are  the  two 
leading  deities  of  those  gross  religions  ;  their  worship 
was  a  mixture  of  debauchery  and  of  murder.  The 
Old  Testament  paints  them  in  the  most  hideous  colors, 
as  they  existed  among  the  Canaanitish  nations  who  were 
contaminated  by  them.  In  such  religions  you  find  no 
moral  ideas  ;  they  do  not  ascend  even  to  the  distinction 
between  good  and  evil,  for  nature  includes  none  of 
the  revelations  of  conscience,  and  he  who  adores  na- 
ture finds  in  it  only  blind  forces.  The  refined  panthe- 
ism of  India  greatly  surpasses  the  gross  naturalism 
of  Asia  Minor,  but  it  terminates  in  the  most  extrava- 
gant asceticism,  which  goes  to  the  length  of  losing  the 
entire  world  in  the  abyss  of  the  Absolute  Being. 

Humanity  could  not  rest  in  that  ;  it  still  gropes  its 
way,  it  makes  one  step.  The  Parsee  religion  is  a  ten- 
tative effort  to  escape  from  the  religions  of  nature  ; 
but  it  has  only  a  half-way  success.  Light  and  dark- 
ness, Ormuz  and  Ahriman,  belong  still  to  the  lower 
world.  The  moral  world  is  not  yet  reached.  This  new 
religion  can  not,  therefore,  indicate  a  second  period. 
The  second   period  begins  with  the  Greek   religion. 


PREPABATIOy  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         139 

From  one  act  of  groping  after  God  to  another,  man  has 
come  to  conceive  of  the  divinity  under  human  form.  Ber 
neath  a  beautiful  sky,  in  a  youthful  race  endowed  Avith 
the  most  brilliant  genius,  this  idea  flourished,  being  at 
once  adorned  with  the  most  poetic  colors.  Man  im- 
agines himself  to  have  reached  the  term  of  his  groping 
after  light.  He  has  a  moment  of  rapture.  The  sky 
is  blue  above  his  head,  he  is  in  the  strength  of  his 
youth.  To  celebrate  his  new  God  he  has  the  most 
wonderful  poets,  whose  poesy  is  perennially  fresh  and 
delightful  ;  to  glorify  his  beauty,  he  possesses  the 
chisel  of  Phidias  and  Praxiteles.  He  adores  him 
upon*  Olympus,  and  in  splendid  sanctuaries.  In  fact, 
he  never  and  in  no  place  ceases  to  adore  him.  Is  not 
a  Greek  city  in  all  its  parts  a  temple  erected  to  hu- 
manity ?  Is  it  not  humanity  whose  festivals  are  ob- 
served in  gymnasia,  in  solemn  games,  and  in  the  thea- 
ters ?  The  Greek  life  splendidly  flowing  in  the  sun 
is  the  joyous  worship  of  humanity.  Patriotism,  love 
of  one's  country,  of  human  society,  is,  truly  speaking, 
the  most  earnest  religion  of  those  times.  Concern 
for  his  own  dignity  is,  for  the  Greek,  the  essence  of 
virtue.  Humanity  believes  that  it  has  nothing  more 
to  desire;  a  divinity  participant  in  the  nature  of  man, 
does  not  this  respond  to  all  his  needs  ?  We  should 
be  ready  to  acknowledge  it,  if  the  gods  worshiped  in 
Greece  were  real  gods  ;  if  they  descended  from  heaven 
to  clothe  human  nature  and  to  purify  it  ;  but  to  desire 
to  have  the  divinity  spring  out  of  the  earth,  to  place 
it  in  some  sort  in  man  not  yet  renewed,  —  this  is  the 
worst  illusion,  and  we  shall  quickly  see  the  result  in 
which  it  terminated.     There  is  no  God-man  possible, 


140  THE  REDEEMER. 

except  through  the  incarnation.  This  enchantment, 
this  festival  of  the  Greek  life,  was  not  to  last,  thanks 
be  to  God  !  This  Eden,  attempted  upon  our  sinful 
earth,  was  to  be  closed  like  the  other.  Already,  in  the 
most  flourishing  epoch  of  Greek  paganism,  it  contained 
the  germ  of  its  own  destruction.  At  first,  even  in  dei- 
fying humanity,  Greek  thought  had  entered  a  domain 
lying  above  the  religions  of  nature.  The  idea  of  mo- 
rality is  too  closely  connected  with  human  nature  not 
to  be  gradually  elicited  from  it  before  the  eyes  of  its 
admirers.  Conscience,  which  almost  wholly  slept  in 
the  East,  appeared  in  Greece,  and  with  it  the  vengeful 
fire  which  shall  consume  paganism.  Legislation  in 
Greece  was  infinitely  superior  to  oriental  legislation. 
A  certain  moral  sap  circulates  in  its  high  literature. 
But  moral  ideas  are  developed  only  in  opposition  to 
paganism.  Socrates  and  Plato  give  to  such  ideas  the 
sublimest  expression  which  they  have  received  outside 
of  revelation,  and  they  are  almost  led  to  the  worship 
of  the  one  only  God.  Philosophy  was  the  most  ener- 
getic solvent  of  Grecian  paganism.  Scarcely  has  man 
congratulated  himself  on  having  no  longer  to  grope 
his  way,  when  it  becomes  necessary  for  him  to  resume 
his  travels  and  his  dubious  researches.  He  will  not 
reach  the  end  until  the  time  when  he  shall  fall,  from 
weariness  and  from  sorrow,  upon  the  way. 

This  weariness  and  this  suffering  mark  the  last  pe- 
riod in  tlie  history  of  paganism.  Many  circumstances 
have  brought  it  on  ;  one  of  the  most  important,  beyond 
question,  was  the  extension  of  the  Roman  domination, 
which,  by  collecting  the  gods  of  all  countries,  placed 
them  face  to  face  with  each  other.     They  could  not  be 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         141 

brouglit  together  without  being  broken.  The  triumph 
of  Rome  was,  furthermore,  the  result  of  countless 
checks  and  sufferings  of  all  kinds.  Rome  herself,  ac- 
cording to  the  beautiful  image  of  an  ancient,  when 
she  had  conquered  the  world,  was  like  a  gladiator, 
who,  having  triumphed  over  his  rivals,  has  no  fur- 
ther occupation  but  to  turn  his  sword  against  his 
own  breast.  The  humiliations  on  the  one  hand,  and 
satiety  on  the  other,  this  vast  skepticism  produced 
by  the  confronting  of  diverse  religions  with  each 
other,  the  delicate  flower  of  the  poetical  paganism  of 
Greece  bruised  by  the  rude  hands  that  were  binding 
the  nation  with  chains,  the  exhaustion  of  the  sap,  the 
extreme  age  of  one  race, — all  these  causes  combined 
led  to  an  epoch  of  bitter  and  universal  deception.  The 
attempt  to  find  God  has  shamefully  failed.  Humanity 
gropes  toward  the  East,  the  West,  the  North,  the 
South.  It  gropes  everywhere,  and  finds  nothing.  It 
curses  the  gods  that  are  known,  and  from  the  crum- 
bling fragments  of  all  the  temples  it  builds  an  altar 
"  to  the  unknown  God."  This  is  the  most  solemn 
moment  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  nations,  for  it  is 
the  completion  of  the  preparatory  work.  I  shall 
therefore  call  your  attention  more  particularly  to  this 
last  period  of  paganism,  so  admirably  characterized  by 
the  words  of  St.  Paul.  The  desire  for  salvation 
burns  upon  that  altar  to  the  unknown  God,  for  if  con- 
structed from  the  ruins  of  paganism,  it  is  at  the  same 
time  a  stepping-stone  to  Christianity.  It  is  an  epit- 
ome of  the  final  phase  of  pagan  antiquity,  with  regard 
to  its  deceptions  and  its  aspirations.  It  is  all  con- 
tained  in   these    two   words,    deception,    aspiration. 


142  THE   REDEEMER. 

God  designed  to  bring  it  to  this  point,  out  of  its  suc- 
cession of  sterile  researches. 

In  all  the  spheres  of  national  and  individual  life, 
you  will  find  this  deceit  to  have  been  bitter  and  to  be 
irrevocable.  Of  this,  numerous  proofs  are  furnished 
by  the  city  of  Athens,  which  the  apostle  Paul  was 
traversing.  And  first  of  all,  what  cruel  deceptions 
in  social  life  !  You  know  the  importance  which  pub- 
lic life  assumed  among  the  heathen.  It  absorbed  the 
individual  life.  Everything  was  referred  to  the  state  ; 
men  lived  in  the  open  forum.  For  a  long  time  the 
Athenian  had  it  in  his  power  to  honor  his  country,  for 
it  was  free  and  flourishing,  notwithstanding  its  narrow 
limits.  Had  it  not  driven  back  the  fleets  and  the 
armies  of  the  great  king  at  Salamis  and  at  Marathon  ? 
The  defense  of  her  liberty,  the  jealous  care  of  her  in- 
terests and  her  glory,  had  passionately  inspired  the 
Athenians  for  centuries.  It  can  not  be  denied  that 
the  sentiment  of  human  dignity  was  strong  in  those 
little  republics  ;  their  agitations,  their  struggles,  even 
their  revolutions,  had  exalted  it  into  an  indomitable 
haughtiness  ;  but  those  times  of  glory  and  freedom 
were  also  times  of  ineradicable  pride.  And  now,  what 
has  become  of  that  independence  of  their  country, 
which  had  inspired  the  most  beautiful  masterpieces  of 
human  eloquence  ?  Attica  is  a  Roman  province  ; 
proconsuls  from  Rome  grind  it  down.  No  more  ani- 
mated discussions,  no  more  passionate  harangues.  The 
people  still  resort  to  the  market-place,  but  the  sacred 
historian  informs  us  that  it  is  only  to  learn  some  new 
thing.  That  which  took  place  at  Athens  took  place 
elsewhere.     Everywhere  has  liberty  disappeared,  and 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         143 

Home  herself  is  the  most  enslaved  of  cities.  The  age 
of  the  tribunes  shall  no  more  return.  A  great  writer 
of  this  epoch  paints  its  degradation  with  one  word. 
*'  Consuls,  senators,  knights,"  said  he,  "  all  emulously 
rushed  into  slavery  ;  "  *  and  he  who  had  the  most  to  lose 
ran  the  fleetest  in  this  race. 

If  we  enter  the  domain  of  thought,  then  we  must 
still  say  deception.  How  many  researches,  how 
many  gropings  after  truth,  since  the  day  when  the 
first  philosopher  gave  form  to  his  system  !  What 
regal  genius  did  Grecian  thought  display,  sometimes 
rising  with  Plato  into  the  regions  of  the  ideal,  at  times 
scrutinizing  with  Aristotle,  by  the  aid  of  an  incompar- 
able analysis,  the  very  heart  of  the  real  !  Apart  from 
the  negative  side  and  the  moral  influence,  what  has 
been  the  result  of  these  great  philosophies  ?  The  phi- 
losophers spoken  of  in  our  text  teach  us  this  too 
plainly  :  they  belonged  to  the  Epicurean  and  to  the 
Stoic  sects.  The  doctrine  of  the  former  is  summed  up 
in  the  word  "  Enjoy."  The  doctrine  of  the  latter  has 
for  its  formula  :  "Die;"  for  its  last  word  is  suicide. 
These  two  doctrines  are  two  doctrines  of  despair. 
They  candidly  renounce  high  and  profound  specula- 
tions, declaring  that  they  avail  nothing,  and  comparing 
them  to  a  boyish  game.f  To  the  cast  down  and  discour- 
aged souls  of  this  epoch,  the  Epicurean  addresses  but  one 
consolation  :  "  Turn  away  thine  eyes  from  heaven,"  said 
he  to  man  ;  "  heaven  is  avast  void.  Seekforgetfulness  in 
enjoyment.  Crown  thy  brow  with  roses,  and  make  of 
thy  life  one  long  festival."  Epicureanism  is  smiling  de- 
spair, the  most  frightful  of  all,  for  nothing  is  more 

*  "Ruere  in  servitium.^^    Tac.  Ann.,  ii.  7. 
t  Seneca,  Letters,  107. 


144  THE  REDEEMER. 

bitter  than  this  forced  smile.  "  Put  away,"  it  says, 
"  politics,  art,  speculation  ;  Erijoy  /  "  * 

The  soul  comforted  in  this  manner  turns  to  the 
Stoic.  His  austere  appearance,  his  manly  and  seri- 
ous air,  inspire  confidence.  Alas  !  far  from  healing 
despair,  he  declares  it  to  be  without  remedy,  and  says 
to  the  soul,  ''Thou  hast  nothing  besides  to  expect,  for 
the  fates  lead  us  on.f  Die  in  thy  suffering.  Endeavor 
only  to  die  on  your  feet.  If  suffering  is  too  great, 
seek  to  escape  from  it  by  some  diversion  ;  thou  canst 
even  ask  forgetfulness  of  wine.  $  If  it  returns  im- 
placable, crushing,  kill  thyself."  §  Suicide  is  then 
truly  the  ultimate  conclusion  of  stoicism.  Such  is 
the  result  of  human  philosophy,  —  to  die  by  material 
enjoyment,  or  by  suffering  !  It  only  remains  for  it  to 
proclaim  its  own  death  ;  and  this  it  has  not  failed  to 
do  by  proclaiming  that  absolute  skepticism  which  is 
equivalent  to  the  suicide  of  philosophy,  in  the  mel- 
ancholy words  of  Cicero  :  "  The  philosophers  of  the 
Academy  affirm  nothing  ;  they  despair  of  arriving  at 
any  certain  knowledge." ||  They  despair!  You  hear 
it,  ancient  philosophy  abdicates  in  despair. 

Of  little  moment  are  these  accumulated  deceptions, 
if  man  has  not  been  deceived  in  his  attempts  to  find 
his  God.  If  his  hope  has  not  been  misled  in  this  re- 
gard, let  him  be  comforted  for  all  his  other  reverses. 
But,  as  you  already  know,  the  worst  deception  of  that 
epoch  is  religious  deception.     Liberty  departs,  phi- 

*  Plutarch,  Contra  Coloph.,  c.  33. 

t  ^*Fata  nos  ducurit.'"    Seneca,  De  Providentia. 

t  De  TranquiUitate  Animi,  15.     *'  Usque  ad  ebrietatem  veniendum.'* 

§  Seneca,  Letter  70. 

II  ^^Dcsperata  cogaitione  certV    Cicero,  De  bonis^  ii.  14. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF  CHRIST.         145 

losopliy  departs  ;  but,  above  all,  the  gods  take  their  de- 
parture. They  are  still  indeed  upon  their  altars  ;  the 
usual  sacrifices  are  still  offered  to  them  ;  the  sacred 
fillets,  the  victims,  the  processions,  the  augurs,  all  the 
outward  forms  of  worship,  subsist  ;  but  it  is  nothing 
more  than  a  corpse.  Belief,  which  is  the  soul  of  all 
religions,  withdraws  from  paganism  ;  and  soon,  like  a 
body  deprived  of  life,  it  will  return,  we  will  not  say 
to  the  dust,  but  to  the  dirt  from  which  it  was  taken. 
Those  gods  in  the  past  so  venerated  are  now  mocked 
and  rallied  in  the  most  insulting  manner.  At  one  time 
their  existence  is  denied,  as  by  Lucretius  ;  again  they 
are  transferred  into  the  class  of  agricultural  symbols, 
as  by  Euhemerus  ;  sometimes  they  are  subtilized,  after 
a  sort,  into  a  vague  pantheism,  as  by  Plutarch.  That 
they  are  no  longer  believed  in,  is  undoubtedly  true. 
And  those  who  still  believe  in  them,  not  being  able 
to  gain  peace  by  means  of  them,  fall  into  agonies  of 
superstition,  which  becomes  a  real  madness.  A  pagan 
author  has  painted  for  us  their  sad  condition.  ''  Suf- 
fer," they  say,  —  "suffer  the  wretched  man,  the  im- 
pious, the  accursed,  who  is  hated  of  all  the  gods,  to 
undergo  his  punishment.  The  superstitious  man  sits 
down  in  the  dust  ;  clothed  in  doleful  sackcloth,  he 
rolls  upon  the  ground.  Near  the  antels*  he  finds 
nothing  but  terror.  The  specters  of  his  imagination 
follow  him  by  night  as  by  day.  His  reason  is  always 
dreaming,  and  his  fear  keeps  unceasing  vigils."  f 

The  decay  of  religion  manifested  itself  also  in  an 
outward   way.      The    oracles    are    silent.      A   pagan 

*  The  antelii  or  anthelii  were  images  of  the  gods  that  stood  before  the 
house-door.  —  Ei>.  t  Plutarch,  De  Superstitione. 

13 


146  THE   REDEEMER. 

writer  declares  that  intercourse  with  the  gods  is  like 
a  river  whose  waters  dry  up  in  the  sand.  Silence 
and  solitude  reign  at  Delphos.*  The  gods  die.  But 
there  is  one  god  especially,  who,  like  Vulcan  in  the 
fable,  falls  wretchedly  from  Olympus,  where  he  had 
been  thoughtlessly  placed.  It  is  man,  —  man  so 
poetically  adored  by  Greece.  Never,  doubtless,  were 
greater  pains  taken  to  accomplish  his  apotheosis,  but 
never  was  that  apotheosis  a  more  ignoble  comedy. 
The  human  divinity  in  the  times  of  St.  Paul  is  per- 
sonified in  the  Roman  emperor.  Their  god  is  to-day 
Nero,  as  yesterday  it  was  Claudius  or  Caligula,  as  to- 
morrow it  will  be  Commodas  or  Domitian.  With  a 
nod  he  governs  the  seas  and  the  land,  peace  and  war.f 
He  has  the  right  to  say,  All  things  are  lawful  for  me 
with  regard  to  you.f  And  this  human  god,  who  has 
his  temples  and  altars,  is  the  greater  part  of  the  time 
a  monster,  at  times  a  fool,  who  is  plunged  into  the 
most  infamous  debaucheries,  and,  when  wearied  with 
his  pleasures,  turns  for  relaxation  to  pillage  and  mur- 
der. Greek  polytheism  terminated  in  the  bald-headed 
and  squint-eyed  Caligula,  or  the  corpulent  Vitellius. 
What  a  fall  !  It  is  intelligible  that,  in  presence  of  the 
known  god,  who  is  some  ignoble  Caesar,  men  should 
sigh  after  the  God  unknown. 

It  is  not  merely  in  the  person  of  the  emperor  that 
humanity  is  degraded.  Corruption  is  general,  and  is 
terrible  ;  it  is  such  a  corruption  that  to  describe  it 
would  be  a  sin.     We  must  not  relate  that  which  they 

*  Plutarch,  De  Oraculis,  v. 

t  Pliny  the  Younger,  TrajaiVs  Panegyric. 

%  Suetonius,  Caligula. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE   COMING    OF  CHRIST.         147 

do  in  secret,  says  St.  Paul.  Call  to  mind  the  admira- 
ble first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  ;  the 
apostle  sums  up  the  picture,  at  once  sober  and  fearful, 
which  he  has  traced  of  the  men  of  his  time,  with 
these  energetic  words  :  "  God  has  given  them  over  to 
their  vile  affections  !  "  After  reading  the  authors  of 
that  period,  we  rise  from  the  perusal  with  our  minds 
troubled,  and  as  if  stained  by  contact  with  such  a 
prodigious  infamy.  The  cynical  maxim,  "  Let  us 
eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die,"  resounds  from 
one  end  of  the  empire  to  the  other  ;  it  passes  from 
banquet  hall  to  banquet  hall,  like  the  burden  of  a 
mournful  song.  We  are  about  to  die  ;  well,  then,  let 
this  day  without  a  morrow  be  a  day  of  endless  de- 
bauchery and  of  stupendous  voluptuousness.  We  think 
we  see  the  crew  of  a  ship,  who,  perceiving  that  they 
will  soon  founder,  consume  in  a  last  scene  of  riotous 
feasting  that  which  should  have  supported  them  dur- 
ing a  long  voyage.  Corruption  is  not  the  privilege 
of  a  single  class.  We  have  the  most  positive  infor- 
mation showing  us  that  it  pervaded  women  as  well  as 
men,  the  highest  classes  as  well  as  the  lowest,  masters 
and  slaves  alike.  Voluptuousness  and  cruelty,  two 
inseparable  sisters,  walk  together  hand  in  hand.  The 
emperor  puts  the  senator  to  torture,  the  senator 
grinds  the  rich  man,  the  rich  man  tortures  the  slave  ; 
the  whole  race  is  but  one  worthless  herd  for  the 
sovereign,  and  this  wretched  herd  is  still  divided  into 
two  portions  :  on  the  one  hand  are  the  masters,  on  the 
other  the  slaves.  Oppression  exists  at  every  step  of 
the  social  ladder.  Everywhere  are  found  division, 
hatred,  vileness.     We  were  therefore  right  in  saying. 


148  THE   REDEEMER. 

It  is  a  time  of  despair.  Yet  the  word  despair  indi- 
cates too  much  moral  energy.  Man  is  palled,  wearied 
with  everything.  It  is  a  profound  remark  in  which 
a  cotemporary  sums  up  this  sad  epoch.  "  What  tor- 
ments us/'  says  Seneca,  "  is  not  the  tempest,  but 
nausea."*  Nausea!  that  is  the  secret,  —  incurable, 
universal  ennui  of  humanity  returned  from  all  its 
illusions.  It  suffers  from  this  moral  nausea  without 
being  able  to  heal  itself,  and  yet  wishes  to  escape 
from  it  at  any  cost.  Hence  such  unheard-of  luxury 
and  feasts  that  cost  millions  of  sesterces  ;  hence  such 
ferocious  amusements.  The  Roman  people  must  have 
a  circus  flowing  with  blood,  because  the  people  are 
sated  and  sick.  The  greater  their  ennui,  the  more 
cruel  are  their  amusements.  In  like  manner  as  it 
becomes  necessary  to  increase  the  dose  of  opium  for 
a  persistent  malady,  so  this  incurable  patient  seeks 
an  ever  augmenting  excitement  in  his  bloody  pleas- 
ures. When  you  see  the  people,  as  sovereign,  in- 
undating the  circus  with  their  terril^lc  waves,  athirst 
for  blood,  and  satisfied  only  when  the  contest  of 
gladiators  ends  in  a  real  battle,  do  not  forget  that 
word  of  Seneca,  "  We  suffer  not  from  the  tempest, 
but  from  nausea  ;  "  and  at  the  sight  of  such  abomi- 
nable spectacles,  or  such  unbridled  debaucheries,  say 
within  yourself  that  not  less  than  this  was  necessary 
to  humanity,  now  undeceived,  in  order  to  make  it 
forget  that  so  many  endeavors  and  gropings  after 
truth  had  ended  in  nothing.  Deception,  universal 
deception  ! 

Yes,  it  is  deception  ;  but  there  is  aspiration,  also,  the 

*  *'JVb;i  tcmpestate,  sed  nausea,  vincor.''''     De  Tranquil.  Animi,  c.  1. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         149 

quivering  of  a  mysterious  expectation  !  This  expecta- 
iion  is  fruitful  and  blessed  on  the  part  of  a  few  per- 
sons only,  but  it  is  observable  everywhere.  We  have 
evidence  of  this  in  our  text  itself.  Paul  has  scarcely 
arrived  in  Athens,  men  have  scarcely  learned  that  he 
brings  with  him  a  new  doctrine,  when  they  press  upon 
his  steps,  listen  to  him  eagerly,  and  put  questions  to 
him.  The  Atlienians  exhibit  the  same  disposition 
with  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  John  the  Baptist,  when 
they  sent  an  embassy  to  him,  asking,  ''Art  thou  he 
that  should  come  ?"  But  we  have  sure  indications  of 
this  universal  aspiration.  First,  all  the  historians  of 
the  age  are  unanimous  in  signalizing  among  their  co- 
temporaries  a  singular  readiness  in  accepting  that 
which  they  called  foreign  superstitions.  "  They  find 
admittance  more  and  more,"  we  read  in  Tacitus.* 
The  people  showed  by  this  that  their  religion  appeared 
to  them  insufficient,  and  that  they  had  a  vague  hope  of 
discovering  a  better.  But  it  was  especially  toward  the 
East  that  all  eyes  were  turned.  Suetonius  informs  us 
that  throughout  the  East  it  was  the  common  belief  that 
the  government  of  the  world  would  shortly  belong  to  a 
man  who  should  come  out  of  Judaea. f 

In  different  classes  of  society  this  longing  was  ex- 
pressed in  different  ways.  Among  the  people  it  had 
a  grosser  manifestation  :  it  was  shown  by  the  belief  in 
magic,  at  that  time  generally  diffused.  The  magicians 
had  an  immense  influence  over  the  people  ;  we  have  a 
striking  proof  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  We  see  an 
entire  people  at  Samaria  fascinated  by  the  enchant- 

*  "Externes  super stitiones  valescunt."    Annal.,  ii.  15. 
t  Suetonius,  Vespasian^  iv. 
13* 


150  THE  REDEEMER. 

ments  of  Simon  the  Magician.  Histor}^  teaches  us 
that  a  general  tendency  was  revealed  by  this  fact.^ 
Why  were  impostors  so  eagerly  followed  ?  It  was  from 
the  same  motive  which  urged  the  inhabitants  of  Judasa 
to  follow  into  the  desert  the  false  messiahs  in  which 
that  age  abounded  ;  it  was  in  the  hope  of  finding  a 
deliverer.  They  said  of  Simon  Magus  :  "  This  man 
is  the  great  power  of  God."  Acts  viii.  11.  Tliey  saw 
in  him  a  manifestation  of  divine  power,  they  hoped  to 
find  in  him  a  Saviour.  False  deliverers  and  false  sav- 
iours succeed  only  when  the  true  is  expected  and  de- 
sired. On  the  part  of  thoughtful  men  the  longing  for 
salvation  is  otherwise  revealed.  It  seems  at  times 
that  they  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Christian  ideal  ;  often 
words  escape  them  which  are  like  an  echo  of  the  gos- 
pel. They  speak  of  woman,  of  the  slave,*  in  a  man- 
ner almost  Christian  ;  but  a  few  lines  further  on  they 
contradict  themselves.  It  is  constantly  manifest  that 
that  which  Christianity  brings  to  the  world  is  seen 
in  anticipation,  and  very  surely  desired  by  them. 
They  also  express  very  strongly  the  need  of  new  con- 
solation. "  Give  me,"  wrote  Pliny  the  Younger  to  one 
of  his  family,  in  a  time  of  mourning, — "  give  me  new 
consolations,  great  and  strong,  of  which  I  have  never 
heard  nor  read.  All  that  I  have  read  and  heard  comes 
back  to  my  memory,  but  my  sorrow  is  too  great!  "  f 
Does  he  not  speak  in  the  name  of  the  entire  family  of 
man  ?  "  My  suffering  is  greater  than  all  which  I 
know  ;  "  this  is  the  cry  of  a  heart  undeceived.  ''  Give 
me  new  consolations  !  "  thfs  is  the  eloquent  expres- 

*  Works  of  Pliny  the  Youngei-,  and  of  Seneca. 

t  Epistle  I.  chap.  12.    "  Aliqua  magna,  nova  solatia.** 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         151 

sion  of  a  burning  desire  for  the  Comforter  !  These 
words  are  the  hymn  and  the  canticle  of  the  pagan 
world  lifted  up  to  the  unknown  God.  Listen,  finally, 
to  the  recital  of  a  man  of  the  age  who  became  in  the 
end  a  fervent  Christian,  and  who  in  many  respects  per- 
sonified his  epoch  before  his  conversion.  The  fictitious 
hero  of  the  Clementina*  constituting  himself  in  this  in- 
stance the  faithful  echo  of  the  truth,  relates  to  us  in 
these  words  the  beginning  of  his  life  :  "  From  my  ear- 
liest youth,  I  have  been  wrought  upon  by  doubts. 
They  followed  me  everywhere  to  torment  me,  and 
when  I  wished  to  get  rid  of  them  this  torment  in- 
creased. I  knew  full  well  that  there  existed  a  heav- 
enly guide  to  lead  me  to  the  truth,  and  I  sought  him 
from  place  to  place.  Tormented  by  these  thoughts 
from  my  youth  up,  I  resorted  to  the  schools  of  philos- 
ophy, but  in  vain.  I  was  tossed  to  and  fro,  from  doc- 
trine to  doctrine,  more  wretched  than  ever,  as  if  borne 
along  in  a  whirlwind  of  opposing  ideas,  and  I  sighed 
from  the  depth  of  my  soul."  Was  not  this  sighing, 
my  brethren,  the  entire  preparatory  work  ?  Does  it 
not  mingle  in  some  sort  with  the  expectant  sighs  of 
Simeon  and  Anna  the  prophetess,  as  well  as  with  the 
prayer  of  Mary  ?  Has  not  the  desire  for  salvation 
reached  its  very  highest  degree  of  development  ?  Does 
not  the  altar  to  the  unknown  God  cause  that  aspira- 
tion to  go  up  to  God  like  the  fragrance  of  acceptable 
prayer  ?  Are  we  not  authorized  in  saying,  with  respect 
to  the  pagan  world,  that  which  we  said  regarding  the 
chosen  people,  —  the  times  are  fulfilled  ? 

It  is  precisely  because  he  proclaims  him  who  is  not 
only  the  Jewish  Messiah,  but  also  the  desire  of  all  na- 

*  Mosh.,  Eccl.  Hist,  vol.  i.  p.  76.  —  Ed. 


152  THE   REDEEMER. 

tions,  that  Paul,  "  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  speak- 
ing well,  unskilled  in  elocution,  with  a  diction  that  be- 
trays the  foreigner,  is  able  boldly  to  enter  polished 
Greece,  the  mother  of  philosophers  and  orators  ;  not- 
withstanding the  opposition  of  the  world,  he  will  there 
establish  more  churches  than  Plato,  with  that  eloquence 
thought  to  be  divine,  could  gain  disciples."  *  The  ti'ial 
of  man's  nothingness  is  complete  ;  he  has  nothing  more 
to  hope  for  from  earth  ;  God's  purpose  is  accomplished. 
He  has  long  enough  walked  on  groping  his  way,  ac- 
cording to  the  expression  of  our  text,  to  understand 
that  of  himself  he  can  discover  nothing,  find  nothing 
that  is  satisfying.  He  has  become  like  that  poor  l^lind 
man  whom  the  evangelist  Luke  shows  to  us  at  the 
gates  of  Jericho  asking  alms  of  the  passers-by.  Yes, 
pagan  humanity,  in  its  wretchedness  and  its  despair, 
asks  an  alms  of  the  philosopher,  begging  to  know  if  he 
has  a  doctrine  which  consoles  ;  of  the  Egyptian  priest, 
of  the  Oriental  magician,  to  know  if  his  belief  may  not 
be  less  empty  than  the  Greek  religion  ;  of  the  sooth- 
sayer himself,  to  learn  if  his  divinations  do  not  contain 
a  power  from  God.  But  none  of  them  could  give  him 
anything  efficacious,  anything  healthful.  Poor  blind 
man,  take  courage  ;  thou  shalt  not  be  long  obliged  to 
grope  in  the  night  !  Already,  like  Bartimeus,  a  vague 
rumor  of  the  coming  of  the  Deliverer  has  reached  even 
to  thee,  and  thou  hast  begun  to  cry  unto  him.  Al- 
ready thou  hast  said  to  him  in  the  depth  of  thy  heart, 
"  Have  pity  on  me,  heal  me."  Fear  not,  he  is  very 
near  thee  ;  has  not  St.  Paul  declared  that  God  is  not 
far  from  us  ?     He  comes,  he  has  already  come.     The 

*  Bossuet,  Panegxjric  on  St.  Paul. 


PREPARATION  FOR    THE    COMIXG    OF   CHRIST.         153 

unknown  God  is  about  to  unvail  himself,  and  at  the 
touch  of  his  compassionate  hand  light  will  dart  forth 
from  th}^  blinded  eye  !  Thy  cry  has  been  heard  ;  the 
times  of  preparation  are  fulfilled.  To  us  the  Saviour  is 
born  ;  and  to  him,  my  brethren,  we  shall  now  lead  you. 
We  shall  no  longer  detain  you  upon  the  threshold  of 
the  evangelical  history,  but  in  our  next  discourse  we 
shall  fully  enter  within.  We  shall  seek  our  Saviour  in 
the  eternal  glory  of  the  Father,  in  order  the  better  to 
measure  his  humiliation.  Thus  his  divinity  and  his 
humanity  will  first  occupy  our  thoughts.  Then,  hav- 
ing known  his  nature,  we  shall  inquire  what  objects 
he  came  to  accomplish  upon  the  earth,  what  plan  he 
pursued,  what  means  he  employed,  with  what  pur- 
poses he  executed  his  plan  :  and  following  him  from 
the  cradle  to  the  cross,  and  from  the  cross  into  the 
garden  where  he  appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene  after  his 
resurrection,  we  shall  endeavor  to  unroll  before  you 
the  picture  of  his  ministry  until  the  day  on  which  he  as- 
cended to  heaven,  whence  in  like  manner  lie  will  descend 
again,  and  whence  he  does  descend  every  day  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  which  unites  us  to  him  through  faith. 

You  have  doubtless  anticipated  a  comparison  which 
I  can  not  refrain  from  urging  at  the  close  of  this  dis- 
course. I  refer  to  the  analogy  between  our  epoch  and 
the  epoch  which  we  Have  been  describing  to  you. 
Does  not  our  age  also  seem  appointed  to  demonstrate 
the  powerlessness  of  man  to  accomplish  anything  good 
or  fruitful  apart  from  God  ?  Notwithstanding  the  gos- 
pel revelation  in  the  midst  of  Christendom,  humanity 
as  a  whole  has  again  begun  to  walk  alone,  refusing 
the  aid  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  thus  condemning  itself 


154  THE   REDEEMER. 

once  more  to  grope  on  miserably.  Blindly  groping 
after  the  truth,  it  has  come  to  a  condition  resembling 
that  of  the  pagan  world,  at  least  in  so  far  as  that  is 
possible  for  a  society  which  has  in  its  bosom  the  leaven 
of  the  gospel,  or  rather  the  salt  of  truth,  which  alone 
preserves  it  from  absolute  putrefaction.  Let  us  speak 
of  our  French  society.  Has  not  this  been  a  hard  age 
in 'that  respect,  an  age  in  which  deceptions  have  been 
interlinked  one  with  another  ?  In  the  domain  of  social 
life,  as  in  the  domain  of  philosophy,  has  there  not  oc- 
curred the  bruising,  the  breaking,  of  all  the  hopes 
cherished  at  the  close  of  the  last  century, — hopes  based 
upon  man,  and  consequently  fragile  and  momentary  ? 
Has  not  skepticism  made  frightful  progress  in  the  do- 
main of  the  religious  life  ?  Has  not  that  superstition 
re-appeared  which  is  depicted  by  Plutarch,  —  the  fear 
of  a  soul  that  has  not  known  the  God  of  forgiveness  ? 
And  looking  in  another  direction,  has  not  mocking 
unbelief  its  thousands  of  organs  ?  Can  not  we  descry 
especially  that  torpor,  that  listless,  sated  mood  of  mind 
which  is  everywhere  making  its  steady  encroachments  ? 
And  may  not  the  men  of  our  day  repeat  those  melancholy 
words:  "  That  from  which  we  suffer  is  not  so  much  the 
tempest  as  the  nausea."  Yes,  the  general  mind  is  cloyed 
and  lifeless.  Show  us  among  the  men  of  this  generation 
those  who.  have  ardor  for  action,  who  are  animated  by 
enthusiasm,  by  faith  in  anything.  Where  are  tlaey  ? 
or,  if  they  are  somewhere,  in  what  corner  are  they  hid- 
den, that  so  little  of  them  is  seen  ?  We  have  no  young 
men  even,  now,  no  youth,  possessed  by  any  illusions, 
influenced  by  any  generous  impatience.  There  is  abun- 
dance of  good  in  circulation,  industry  achieves  won- 


PBEPAIÎATION  FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         155 

ders, — I  admit  this,  —  but  what  good  is  accomplished 
by  these  implements  of  activity  if  the  moral  spring 
is  relaxed,  if  materialism  renders  all  fruitful  activity 
impossible  ?  Our  epoch,  also,  is  characterized  by  decep- 
tion. But  since  the  fact  of  deception  prompts  the 
soul  to  aspire,  even  the  greatness  of  the  age  is  con- 
nected with  its  deceived  condition.  The  altar  to  the 
true  God  will  in  like  manner  be  constructed  out  of 
the  crumbling  remains  of  all  the  others.  It  will  not 
be  an  altar  to  a  God  unknown,  but  to  God  who  is  for- 
gotten. 

This  altar  we  are  assured  is  already  building. 

Yes,  there  is  something  that  sighs  after  it  in  hearts 
which  are  not  dried  up  by  materialism.  An  immense 
void  is  felt,  which  God  alone  can  fill,  a  sadness  which 
earth  can  not  console.  We  ask  of  you  only,  0  you 
who  have  known  this  sorrow,  not  to  console  your- 
selves too  soon,  not  to  mislead  that  sacred  thirst  after 
truth  and  after  salvation.  Suffer  not  past  experiences 
to  be  lost  upon  you.  Do  not  admit  as  consolation 
that  which  was  never  such.  Repeat  the  profound 
thought  of  the  pagan  philosopher,  ''I  need  consolation, 
new,  great,  and  solemn."  If  they  tell  thee,  for  exam- 
ple, Forget  thy  sadness,  come,  sit  down  at  our  feasts, 
share  our  pleasures  ;  call  to  mind  the  Epicurean  of 
paganism,  and  reply.  Thou  art  not  a  new  comforter; 
thou  hast  ruined  those  who  have  believed  thee  for 
eighteen  centuries:  depart  from  me  !  If  they  tell  you, 
Trust  only  to  thy  reason,  reject  all  revelation,  walk 
with  brow  lifted  toward  heaven  ;  recognize  the  proud 
philosopher  of  ancient  times,  and  answer.  Thou  art 
not  a  new  comforter  ;  thou  art  doubtless  reserving  sui- 


lÔG  THE   REDEEMER. 

cide  as  the  last  of  thy  counsels  :  withdraw  !  If  they 
say  to  you,  Rejoice  at  the  progress  of  civilization,  at 
the  conquests  of  man  over  nature,  and  expect  greater 
triumphs  in  a  re-organized  society  ;  answer,  The  Ro- 
man ways,  as  wonderful  for  their  times  as  are  our 
railways  for  our  day,  served  only  to  convey  more  rap- 
idly from  one  extremity  of  the  empire  to  another  the 
listlessness  and  longing  of  man.  The  remedy  for  my 
malady  does  not  lie  in  those  outward  things  ;  I  need 
something  new.  If  they  tell  you,  Abide  by  the  faith 
of  thy  fathers  without  examination,  follow  the  cus- 
toms of  their  worship  without  criticising  them,  go  to 
sleep  upon  the  consecrated  pillow  where  they  found 
rest  ;  answer.  The  trial  of  outward  religions,  of  tradi- 
tionary beliefs,  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  We  know  what 
they  avail  in  evil  days.  Great  and  earnest  consola- 
tions consist  neither  in  the  multiplicity  of  ceremonies, 
nor  in  the  rigor  of  external  authority.  Where  are 
they,  then,  for  I  have  need  of  them  ?  Let  that  day 
only  arrive  when  you  shall  utter  this  cry  of  distress. 
Let  the  day  come  when,  wearied  of  groping  your  way, 
you  shall  be  like  the  blind  man  of  Jericho.  Your  God 
is  not  afar  off.  He  is  there,  he  waits  for  you.  Fear 
not  lest  he  pass  before  you  without  hearing  your  cry. 
You  shall  be  disappointed  in  your  hope  no  more  than 
those  who  have  gone  before  you  ;  he  has  words  as 
powerful  as  ever.  When  he  shall  have  spoken  to  you, 
you  will  no  longer  grope  in  darkness  ;  and  instead  of 
despairing  seekers,  you  will  become  blessed  believers. 
But  this  is  on  one  condition,  —  that  you  do  not  suffer 
yourselves  to  be  gained  over  by  the  unfeeling  content- 
ment of  materialism,  and  that  you  recogniz-e  in  the 


PIŒPAliATION  FOR    TUE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         157 

general  and  special  trials  so  abundantly  furnished  by 
this  age,  a  compassionate  purpose  of  God,  who  is  not 
willing  to  cease  smiting  you  till  he  shall  have  wounded 
your  heart,  like  Jacob,  in  order  to  bless  you.  Happy 
those  who  weep,  those  who  mourn  ;  they  shall  be  com- 
forted, for  between  them  and  the  Comforter  thei'e  is 
no  impassable  obstacle. 

No  obstacle  !  Is  not  this  saying  too  much  ?  Be- 
tween Jesus  Christ  and  these  poor  souls  there  are  too 
often  Christians.  In  the  narrative  of  the  healing  of 
blind  Bartimeus,  it  is  related  that  the  disciples  inter- 
posed for  a  moment  between  him  and  the  Saviour.  Is 
not  this  the  part  which  believers  to-day  are  often  found 
playing  ?  And  first,  there  are  men  who,  wrongfully 
setting  themselves  up  as  the  only  representatives  of 
Christianity,  regard  it  as  their  mission  to  constitute 
themselves  intermediums  between  the  poor  blind  men 
of  our  days  and  the  divine  Physician.  They  say  to 
them.  Go  not  to  him  ;  come  to  us.  But  they  are 
not  he.  They  possess  neither  his  compassion  nor  his 
power  ;  they  are  hard  and  narrow  ;  and  instead  of 
truths,  they  present  fables  which  appear  to  be  gathered 
together  from  out  the  ruins  of  paganism.  What  a 
position  !  To  place  themselves  between  Christ  and 
the  sinner  :  to  hide  Jesus  Christ  in  order  to  appear  in 
his  room  !  If  there  are  still  so  great  numbers  of  poor 
blind  men  who  grope  their  way,  ascribe  it  largely  to 
these  usurpers  of  the  rights  of  God,  who  have  his  word 
only  to  hide  it.  Yes,  in  this  country  many  sighs,  many 
aspirations,  fall  back  to  the  earth,  because  the  priest 
has  placed  himself  between  souls  and  Jesus  Christ,  and 
has  given  himself  as  the  incarnation  of  Christianity. 

14 


158  THE   REDEEMER. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  Christianity  so  represented 
should  possess  but  small  attractions. 

But,  in  conclusion,  let  us  turn  to  ourselves,  my  breth- 
ren, to  us,  evangelical  Christians.  We,  too,  we  have 
discouraged  many  proselytes  because  we  have  shown 
a  semi-Christianity,  without  life  and  without  flame. 
The  gospel  is  the  same  to-day  as  it  was  eighteen  cen- 
turies since,  if  only,  while  inducing  men  to  read  it,  we 
could  at  the  same  time  make  them  see  it  as  it  rightly  is. 
Would  you  know  the  secret  of  Paul's  power  in  his 
preaching  ?  It  is  not  merely  the  doctrine  which  he  pro- 
claimed that  constituted  his  strength  ;  it  is  moreover 
the  spirit  in  which  he  announced  that  doctrine.  We 
have  the  doctrine,  —  not  quite  complete,  however; 
often  much  contracted  and  impoverished  ;  St.  Paul's 
discourse  at  Athens  projects  beyond  our  theological 
systems  in  every  direction.  Yet  in  that  which  is  es- 
sential we  have  the  doctrine  of  salvation.  Have  we 
the  spirit  which  animated  Paul  ?  Have  we  that  ardent 
charity  which  consumed  his  heart  ?  St.  Luke  shows 
him  to  us  at  Athens,  sorrowfully  traversing  that  city, 
and  shuddering  at  the  sight  of  the  idolatrous  altars 
with  which  it  was  filled.  Paul  beheld  the  heathen 
city  with  the  same  feelings  that  caused  Jesus  to  weep 
his  tears  over  Jerusalem.  Read  his  heart,  broken  with 
holy  sorrow,  and  you  will  comprehend  that  his  speech, 
as  Bossuet  has  said,  founded  more  churches  than  Plate 
had  disciples.  That  inward  agony,  that  charity,  those 
sufferings,  —  we  have  them  not  ;  and  when  we  shall 
traverse  the  streets  of  our  great  city  with  hearts  wound- 
ed like  Paul's  at  Athens,  then  we  also  shall  achieve  a 
great  work  therein  to  the  glory  of  Jesus   Christ,  and 


PREPARATION   FOR    THE    COMING    OF   CHRIST.         159 

the  altar  inscribed  to  the  unknown  God  will  not  have 
been  raised  in  vain  in  so  many  souls,  who  are  waiting 
only  for  the  approach  of  true  Christians  to  recognize 
and  adore  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  In  these  times  of 
such  solemn  interest,  and  when  men's  spirits  are  so» 
tried  and  searched,  suffer  it  not  to  be  said  that  there 
are  disciples  of  Christ  who  have  remained  as  obstacles 
between  him  and  a  sick  and  suffering  people  that  were 
calling  upon  him.  Nay,  Lord,  but  may  it  be  their  only 
endeavor  to  lead  souls  to  him  who  has  the  words  of 
eternal  life  !  Let  nothing  in  our  works  or  in  our  words 
keep  them  away  from  Christ  !  Make  us  wholly  pure 
from  our  brother's  blood  ! 


CHAPTER   Y. 

THE   NATURE   OF  JESUS    CHRIST,   THE    MAN- 
GOD. 

"  The  Word  was  made  flesh."  —  John  i.  14. 

THE  desire  for  the  Saviour  had  reached  its  com- 
plete maturity  in  the  epoch  of  universal  decline 
which  we  have  endeavored  to  sketch  with  rapid 
strokes.  Like  fire  smoldering  beneath  the  wrecks  of 
an  edifice  devoured  by  it,  it  lay  smoldering  and  burn- 
ing beneath  the  ruins  of  paganism  *and  Judaism,  and 
the  flames  could  even  be  seen  ascending  to  heaven 
triumphant  over  the  entire  world  which  it  had  con- 
sumed. To  depict  in  a  few  words  the  posture  of 
earnest  minds  at  this  memorable  epoch,  we  could  not 
do  better  than  to  borrow  the  noble  and  poetical  lan- 
guage of  Origen.  He  sees  in  the  bride  of  the  Song 
of  songs  awaiting  her  husband,  the  type  of  the 
human  soul  awaiting  its  Saviour  ;  she  was  affianced 
to  him  by  the  promise  given  in  Eden  ;  she  knows  that 
his  coming  draweth  nigh,  and  she  calls  upon  him  with 
inexpressible  ardor.  Origen  makes  us  hear  her  voice, 
first  in  Judaism,  then  in  paganism.  "  The  church," 
says  he,  "by  which  I  understand  the  assembly  of  the 
saints,  desires  its  union  with  Christ.  She  thus  ex- 
presses her  desire  :  I  have  been  loaded  with  good 
things  ;  I  have  received  abundantly  the  pledges  of  my 

160 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS    CHIilST.  IGI 

divine  espousals.  During  my  betrothal  with  the  Son 
of  the  heavenly  King,  with  the  King  of  the  whole 
creation,  angels  brouglit  to  me  the  law  as  a  gift  of  my 
beloved.  Prophets  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  did  the 
more  influence  my  love  and  awaken  my  holy  desires, 
in  speaking  to  me  of  his  coming,  of  his  countless 
virtues,  and  his  unbounded  gifts.  They  depicted  to 
me  his  noble  beauty  and  his  compassions.  So  that  I 
can  not  endure  the  longing  awakened  by  such  a  love. 
Already  the  existing  economy  draws  to  its  close.  As 
yet  I  see  only  its  servants  ascendhig  and  descending 
the  luminous  ladder.  I  turn  to  thee.  Father  of  my 
beloved,  and  I  entreat  thee  to  have  pity  on  my  love, 
and  send  him  to  me  so  that  he  shall  no  longer  speak 
to  me  by  his  servants  and  his  prophets  only,  but  he 
shall  come  himself,  and  I  shall  hear  him  speaking  and 
teaching." 

But  it  is  not  in  Judaism  alone  that  the  divine  Spouse 
is  called  for  ;  they  cry  out  for  him  in  the  bosom  of 
paganism  also,  according  to  Origen  :  "  The  human 
soul,"  he  says,*  "  is  profoundly  desirous  of  being 
united  to  the  Word,  even  among  the  pagans.  She  has 
received  the  earnest  of  her  divine  espousals.  In  like 
manner  as  the  law  and  as  prophecy  were  the  pledges 
of  the  future  for  Israel,  so  the  law  of  conscience,  the 
understanding,  and  the  free  will,  were  for  the  human 
soul,  out  of  the  pale  of  Judaism,  the  presents  of  her 
betrothal.  She  has  found  in  no  doctrine  of  philoso- 
phers the  satisfaction  of  lier  longing  and  of  her  love.f 
She  seeks  the  illumination  and  the  visitation  of  the 

*  Oi'igen,  In  Cantic.  Cantic,  lib.  i. 
t  "  Plena  atque profecta  desiderii  sui  amoris  expletio.^' 
14* 


162  THE   REDEEMER. 

Word.  Neither  men  nor  angels  suffice  unto  her. 
She  desires  the  divine  embraces  of  the  Word."  * 

If  sucli  are  the  inclinations  of  humanity,  is  it  not 
evident  that  the  heavenly  Spouse  is  about  to  descend 
from  the  skies  ?  Who  formed,  who  nourished,  who 
unfolded  this  desire,  save  that  God  to  wliom  the 
broken  heart  of  man  betakes  itself?  He  has  pursued 
no  other  end  during  so  many  centuries  but  to  bring 
this  desire  to  its  maturity.  And  now  that  this  great 
design  is  accomplished,  should  heaven  be  shut  up  and 
remain  deaf  to  the  universal  prayer  ?  No,  no  ;  any- 
thing is  possible  except  such  a  refusal.  I  appeal  to 
the  numberless  proofs  of  the  divine  love,  to  its  patient 
and  persevering  toil  during  the  period  of  preparation. 
The  coming  of  the  Saviour  will  not  be  delayed  for  a 
moment.  Already  the  hymn  of  peace  has  resounded 
upon  the  plains  of  Bethlehem.  He  cometh,  he  Com- 
eth, as  saith  the  song,  or  rather  he  hath  already 
come.  We  can  join  ourselves  to  those  shepherds  and 
to  those  magi,  the  first-fruits  of  a  Christian  humanity, 
the  former  representing  the  chosen  people,  the  latter 
the  Gentiles  ;  we  also  can  offer  him  myrrh  and  frank- 
incense, and,  above  all,  the  treasures  of  our  hearts. 
We  can  adore  him  in  the  manger.  But  in  order  to 
adore  him  in  that  humiliation,  we  must  first  of  all 
discern  his  divinity  in  his  humanity  ;  and  it  is  this 
important  theme  which  I  come  now  to  propose  for 
your  meditation,  to  which  I  am  also  invited  by  the 
words  of  my  text  :  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh." 

Doubtless  there  are  found  in  this  assembly  men 
who  refuse  to  believe  in  the  perfect  divinity  of  Christ, 

♦  "  Ipsius  oscula  verbi  Dei." 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  163 

and  others  who  detract  from  his  perfect  humanity. 
At  all  times  this  twofold  tendency  is  encountered. 
Those  who  deny  or  diminish  the  perfect  humanity  of 
Jesus  Christ  continue,  or  rather  revive,  paganism, 
which  ever  sought  to  humanize  the  divine.  Those 
who  deny  or  diminish  the  perfect  humanity  of  Jesus 
Christ  prolong  or  revive  Judaism,  which  separated 
the  divine  from  the  human,  and  placed  between  earth 
and  heaven  the  high  and  terrible  barrier  of  Sinai. 
Christianity  is  the  definitive  religion,  precisely  be- 
cause it  has  reconciled  without  changing  the  divine 
and  the  human.  It  is  the  religion  of  the  3Ian-God. 
To  deny  in  Jesus  Christ  the  man  or  the  God,  is  to 
take  away  from  Christianity  the  reason  of  its  exist- 
ence. It  is,  in  fact,  to  blot  it  out  ;  for  it  might  then 
be  said,  "  To  what  good  end  is  a  new  religion  which 
is  but  a  pale  reflection  of  an  ancient  religion  ?  It 
was  not  worth  the  trouble  to  shake  heaven  and  earth, 
and  to  tell  them  to  keep  silence,  in  order  to  repeat 
that  which  was  already  known.  The  question  here 
relates,  therefore,  to  the  very  essence  of  the  gospel  ; 
and,  since  the  gospel  is  the  good  news  of  salvation, 
it  relates  to  the  most  indispensable  condition  of  that 
salvation.  May  God  grant  me  to  convince  those  who 
doubt,  and  to  confirm  in  their  faith  those  who  believe 
in  the  perfect  divinity  and  the  perfect  humanity  of 
their  Saviour  !  We  are  every  day  gathering  up  the 
fruits  of  this  great  '  doctrine  ;  but  we  do  not  suffi- 
ciently contemplate  it  in  itself.  The  abundant  and 
precious  fruits  which  it  gives  appear  to  us  to  hide,  at 
times,  the  tree  which  produces  them.  And  yet  there 
is  found  rich  edification  in  considering  these  sublime 


164  THE   P.EDEEMER. 

truths.  Like  the  lofty  mountains,  they  contain  the 
freshest  springs.  May  we  now  have  a  practical  proof 
of  this  in  meditating  upon  our  text,  which  is  at 
once  so  profound  and  so  concise.  This  great  subject 
of  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  burning  bush  of 
the  new  covenant.  May  it  inspire  us  with  the  holy 
reverence  which  in  the  desert  filled  the  man  who  was 
under  the  law,  and  with  that  filial  confidence,  also, 
which  pertains  to  the  man  who  is  under  grace  I 

A  child  is  just  born  in  a  small  city  of  a  small  coun- 
try. This  child  is  called  Saviour,  and  this  name  an- 
nounces all  that  which  he  comes  to  do  here  below. 
Whoever  you  are  in  this  assembly,  you  admit,  at  least 
to  a  certain  extent,  that  he  brought  to  the  world  a 
great  deliverance.  But  what  ideas  have  you  concern- 
ing his  person  ?  What  is  he  in  your  eyes  ?  To  solve 
the  great  question  of  the  nature  of  Jesus  Christ,  I 
shall  first  pass  in  review  the  different  solutions  which 
have  been  given  by  men  who  do  not  receive  the  gos- 
pel, and  in  order  to  refute  them  I  shall  not  appeal  to 
revelation  so  much  as  to  themselves.  It  will  suffice 
for  me  to  bring  each  one  of  these  solutions  near  to 
the  heart  of  man,  to  his  mysterious  and  infinite  desire 
for  salvation,  and  those  doctrines  will  be  consumed  by 
his  unsatisfied  ardor,  as  straw  by  the  fire. 

What  have  men  said  to  you  of  Christ  ?  They  have 
told  you,  perhaps,  that  there  never  lived  a  man  like 
unto  him  ;  that  he  is  only  a  mythical  or  fabulous  per- 
sonage, such  as  Linus  or  Orpheus  ;  that  the  gospel  is 
a  brilliant  tissue  of  legends,  proceeding  from  the  pop- 
ular superstitions.  In  reality,  their  view  is  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  but  the  symbol  of  our  divinity,  —  the   di- 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  165 

viiiity  of  all  men  ;  of  that  union  of  God  and  man 
which  is  to  be  realized  in  each  one  of  us  by  the  de- 
velopment of  reason.  Have  they  thus  spoken  to  you? 
Nothing  is  more  likely  to  occur,  for  the  schools  of  un- 
belief have  shaken  their  doubt  into  the  air  which  we 
breathe,  and  the  impiety  of  pretended  wise  men  runs 
througli  our  streets.  1  shall  not  refute  this  absurd 
opinion  by  presenting  the  imposing  mass  of  historical 
testimonies  which  guarantee  the  reality  of  the  facts 
stated  by  the  evangelists.  I  shall  not  recall  those 
well-known  citations  from  Jewish  and  pagan  writers 
who,  by  their  very  hatred,  established  the  verity  of  the 
sacred  narrative.  I  shall  not  speak  of  the  blood  of 
the  apostles,  poured  out  for  that  which  is  now  styled  a 
myth, — a  fact  incredible  alike  with  regard  to  execu- 
tioners and  victims  on  the  supposition  of  cotemporary 
rationalism.  Legends  and  dreams  inspire  neither  so 
great  fury  nor  so  great  devotedness.  I  confine  my- 
self to  an  appeal  to  the  human  soul.  Is  it  to  find  a 
myth,  a  felicitous  legend,  a  well-invented  apologue, 
that  thou  hast  endured  such  sufferings  and  groanings, 
and  sought  out  so  many  things,  in  every  clime  and  in 
every  age  ?  What  !  in  guerdon  of  so  much  toil  and 
pain  thou  hast  been  pursuing  the  poetical  expression 
of  a  truth  which  was  already  the  heritage  of  every 
generation  !  If  man  by  virtue  of  his  reason  is  the 
true  Christ,  why  has  he  desired  another  ?  What  im- 
port has  the  history  of  religions  ?  What  mean  the 
restlessness  and  the  agitation  of  our  hearts  ?  It  seems 
to  us  that  to  state  these  questions  is  to  solve  them. 

What   further   has   been   said    to   you   concerning 
Christ  ?     Perhaps  you  have  been  assured  that  he  was 


166  THE   REDEEMER. 

a  great  social  reformer,  and  that  the  gospel  was  the 
charter  of  a  new  society.  Too  long  and  too  com- 
monly has  this  idea  been  found  in  our  poor  world  for 
it  to  escape  your  knowledge.  I  need  not  recall  to 
your  minds  the  deeply  spiritual  nature  of  the  gospel, — 
those  words  of  the  Master,  so  often  repeated,  in  which 
he  turns  man's  eye  from  earth  to  heaven  :  "  My  king- 
dom is  not  of  this  world.  Seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
God  and  his  righteousness,  and  all  things  shall  be 
added  unto  you.  Labor  not  for  the  meat  which  per- 
isheth,  but  for  that  meat  which  endureth  unto  ever- 
lasting life;" — words  which  represent  every  out- 
ward reform  as  dependent  upon  a  moral  and  inward 
reform.  Here,  again,  I  shall  appeal  to  the  desire  of 
your  hearts.  Do  you  believe  that  it  would  be  com- 
pletely satisfied  by  social  reforms  ?  Take  things  at 
the  very  best  :  let  us  suppose  the  earth  no  longer  cov- 
etous of  any  man's  daily  bread,  and  that  it  be  covered 
with  harvests  a  thousand-fold  more  abundant.  Let 
us  suppose,  to  use  the  poetic  image  of  the  Psalmist, 
that  the  chariot  of  the  year  has  distilled  plenty  upon 
all, — and  God  grant  it!  we  are  here  combating  only 
materialism  ;  suppose  that  there  are  no  starving 
people  at  the  gate  of  the  rich  man,  but  that,  seated  in 
his  turn  at  home,  at  a  magnificent  table,  and  clothed 
in  fine  linen,  surrounded  by  a  society  that  is  perfectly 
leveled,  the  poor  man,  now  no  longer  such,  displays 
the  extent  of  the  social  advancement  that  has  been 
achieved.  Let  us  suppose  this  to  be  the  only  work  of 
Christ,  and  that  it  is  completely  successful.  Do  you 
believe  that  all  aspiration  is  at  an  end,  that  all  desire 
is  extinguished  in  you  ?     Ah  !  you  have  a  better  opin- 


THE  NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  167 

ion  of  human  nature.  You  do  not  despise  it  to  that 
degree.  You  know  well  that  it  would  rush  forth  be- 
yond time  as  out  of  a  prison-house,  beyond  the  earth 
as  out  of  a  place  of  exile,  because  it  lives  not  by  bread 
alone,  but  pre-eminently  by  truth.  You  know  that  on 
the  morrow  of  the  fortunate  day  we  have  painted,  the 
void  would  be  yet  greater  in  the  heart  of  the  poor 
rich  man,  because  an  infinite  void,  the  emptiness  of 
one  that  has  lost  God,  painfully  measures  itself  by 
that  which  has  been  thrown  into  it  to  make  it  full. 
No,  no  ;  it  is  not  for  that  only  that  during  six  thousand 
years  all  creatures  have  sighed.  Each  one  of  these 
immortal  souls  feels  within  itself  that  the  whole 
world  —  were  it  the  world  transformed  according 
to  the  most  beautiful  dreams  of  social  reformers  — 
is  not  equal  to  itself  in  real  work  ;  and  that  if  the 
Christ  of  eighteen  centuries  ago  was  but  a  reformer, 
for  time  and  for  earth,  it  must  then  be  constrained  to 
seek  another,  and  to  feel  that  the  true  deliverer  is  yet 
to  come  ! 

You  have  heard  it  also  said,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  a  sage,  a  philosopher,  the  Socrates  of  Jerusalem.  I 
shall  not  adduce  the  miraculous  and  mysterious  char- 
acter of  his  life  and  his  teaching,  which  transports  us 
from  the  domain  of  theories  into  the  domain  of  sov- 
ereign reality.  I  can  appeal  again  to  the  desire  of  your 
hearts.  Is  it  a  sage,  a  philosopher,  whom  you  need  ? 
But  did  not  the  ancient  world  have  more  of  these  even 
than  they  asked  for  ?  Did  they  not  possess  the  purest, 
the  greatest,  the  most  admirable  of  all,  and  yet  the 
ancient  world  would  not  abide  in  their  schools  ?  Of 
the  East  they  sought  something  powerful  and  new; 


168  THE   REDEEMER. 

and  do  you  believe  that  when  the  East  had  given  them 
some  more  elevated  moral  notions,  they  would  have 
withdrawn  satisfied  ?  What  !  a  new  disputer,  a  man 
of  supposition,  of  hypotheses,  presenting  himself  with 
a  system  flowing  from  preceding  systems,  —  would 
this  be  the  Saviour,  the  Deliverer  ?  But  have  you  not 
understood  that  it  is  for  certainty,  for  a  certainty  im- 
mediate, absolute,  which  should  be  like  a  sight  of  the 
invisible,  that  man  is  athirst  ?  He  has  heard  discours- 
ers,  rhetoricians,  and  philosophers  enough.  He  has 
sufficiently  agitated  ideas,  stated  questions,  and  tried 
doctrines  ;  the  old  world  —  and  in  this  respect  we  all 
belong  to  it  —  could  no  longer  bear  their  wearisome- 
ness.  Man  hungers  after  beliefs.  He  hungers  for  God, 
and  you  would  set  before  him  the  unsubstantial  dishes 
with  which  he  is  profoundly  disgusted.  He  thirsts  for 
consolation,  and  you  lead  him  to  the  broken  and  ruined 
cistern  of  human  knowledge.  Give  him  the  bread  and 
the  water  which  he  asks  for.  Give  him  his  God,  his 
living  God,  If  you  give  it  not  to  him,  if  your  Christ 
does  not  bring  it  to  him,  he  must  then  go  in  search 
of  another.  Shall  this  other  Christ  be  a  prophet,  the 
divinest  of  all,  as  men  have  perhaps  told  you  ?  A 
prophet  does  not  suffice  ;  and  the  proof  is  that  the  great- 
est among  them  were  those  who  most  ardently  desired 
the  Saviour  :  did  not  he  who,  according  to  Jesus  Christ, 
was  both  the  last  and  the  first  of  the  prophets,  declare 
that  he  was  not  worthy  to  unloose  the  latchet  of  his 
shoes  ?  A  prophet  ?  But  he  is  a  man,  one  of  us  ;  one 
of  us  purified  and  chosen  to  be  the  organ  of  the  Spirit  ; 
one  of  us  sanctified  by  the  live  coal  which  touched  the 
.ips  of  Isaiah  ;  one  of  us  lifted  up  to  the  contemplation 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  169 

of  unspeakable  things  ;  but,  after  all,  one  of  us  diseased, 
also,  with  the  great  malady  of  sin,  under  the  like  con- 
demnation with  us  ;  but  it  is  not  one  partaking  of  the 
same  disease  who  shall  be  our  physician.  No,  you  need 
more  than  a  prophet,  and  therefore,  after  Isaiah,  Jere- 
miah, and  Daniel,  the  Jews  have  still  waited  for  Him 
who  was  to  come. 

Shall  it  be  an  angel,  the  one  nearest  to  the  throne 
of  God,  the  most  glorious  of  all  ?  I  need  not  repeat 
to  you  the  words  of  a  sacred  writer,  "  To  which  of  the 
angels  has  he  said.  Sit  thou  upon  thy  throne  ?  "  Heb.  i. 
5.  I  shall  only  recall  to  your  minds  that  expression  so 
true  and  beautiful  which  Origen  has  given  to  the  desire 
of  our  hearts  :  "  I  have  only  seen  hitherto  "  —  he  repre- 
sents the  soul  as  saying — "  thy  angels  descending  and  as- 
cending the  luminous  ladder.  Take  pity  on  my  love, 
0  Father  !  Let  my  beloved  speak  to  me  no  more  by  his 
servants  ;  let  him  come  himself;  let  him  speak  to  me  him- 
self." If  we  experience  so  profound  a  need  of  seeing 
the  Son  of  God  without  intervention  of  another,  of 
seeing  him,  of  hearing  him  in  person,  what  have  we  to 
do  with  the  creature  ?  It  is  the  eternal  Word  whom 
we  need.  If  an  angel  could  have  been  Christ,  Mary 
would  have  acknowledged  him  in  Gabriel  ;  but  the 
angel,  like  Mary,  spoke  of  the  promised  Saviour,  be- 
cause he  had  not  yet  come.  The  angels  could  cele- 
brate his  birth,  but  no  one  of  them  could  have  filled 
his  place.  Humanity  knew  his  servants  ;  it  aspired  to 
the  possession  of  the  Master. 

Thus  it  suffices  us,  in  order  to  detect  the  inadequa- 
cy of  such  opinions,  to  confront  these  false  views  with 
the  secret  and  burning  desire  of  our  hearts.     But  let 

15 


170  THE   REDEEMER: 

US  rise  from  these  somewhat  vague  notions  to  that 
desire  for  salvation  which  we  have  found  in  our  anal- 
ysis ;  we  shall  quickly  be  convinced  that  man  asked 
for  nothing  less  than  that  which  God  has  given  him  ; 
that  is  to  say,  a  Saviour  uniting  in  himself  the  nature 
of  God  and  the  nature  of  man.  I  do  not  fear  to  place 
myself  ujdou  this  ground,  for  I  find  an  admirable  har- 
mony between  the  holy  desire  enkindled  for  salva- 
tion and  the  positive  prophecies  destined  to  render  it 
pure  and  fruitful.  When  the  true  cry  of  the  soul  went 
up  to  God,  that  cry  asked  for  a  God-man.  Whenever 
the  soul  has  spoken  with  simplicity  and  with  freedom, 
without  being  chained  or  chilled  by  a  captious  philos- 
ophy, it  has  desired  an  incarnate  Redeemer.  This  de- 
sire was  often  enveloped  in  gross  and  impure  myths, 
but  it  proves  irresistibly  that  the  incarnation  alone  re- 
sponds to  the  desire  of  man,  and  that  by  denying  this 
stupendous  miracle  violence  is  done  as  well  to  his  na- 
ture as  to  revelation. 

And  truly,  my  brethren,  what  have  we  constantly 
found  in  the  desire  for  salvation  ?  Two  feelings,  fully 
discriminated,  —  grief  on  account  of  condemnation, 
and  the  hope  of  restoration.  The  hope  of  renewal  is  at 
bottom,  the  hope  of  finding  God  again,  and  of  possess- 
ing him.  It  is  he,  and  he  alone,  whom  man  has  sought 
in  religion  after  religion.  And  observe  carefully  that 
man  has  no  concern  with  the  solitary  and  idle  deity 
of  philosophy,  who  is  lost  in  the  depths  of  the 
heavenly  solitudes,  like  an  Oriental  monarch  in  the 
seclusion  of  his  palace.  No,  he  longs  for  a  living  God  : 
he  desires  a  God  intermingled  with  all  existence. 
Man  has  wretchedly  debased  the  divinity  by  cutting  it 


THE  NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  171 

into  fragments,  and  dragging  it,  thus  mutilated  and 
degraded,  in  the  dust  of  the  material  world,  which  ap- 
propriated to  itself  in  some  sort  the  severed  pieces  : 
the  tree,  the  flower,  the  vast  sea,  the  fresh  fountain,  the 
sun,  the  wind,  the  golden  corn,  all  beings,  all  elements, 
were  deified,  and  there  was  no  act  of  life  that  had  not 
some  presiding  deity.  Say  that  these  are  odious  super- 
stitions, and  we  agree  with  you  ;  but  you  must  admit 
that  a  true  sentiment  is  wrapped  up  in  them,  though, 
alas  for  it,  defiled  by  contact  with  them.  "  I  need  a 
God  who  is  nigh,  a  God  who  speaks  to  me,  who  leads 
me."  This  man  has  never  ceased  repeating  in  all  the 
religions  invented  by  him.  "  Make  us  gods  which  shall 
go  before  us"  (Ex.  xxxii.  1,  2),  said  the  Jews  to 
Aaron.  This  simple  word  is  uttered  by  all  the  pagan- 
isms of  the  ancient  world.  Materialistic  in  one  aspect, 
it  is  true  in  another.  Man  can  not  do  without  a  real 
God,  and  he  will  believe  in  his  restoration  only  when 
he  shall  have  seen  God  go  before  him  in  his  sorrowful 
pathway.  He  has  always  sought,  outside  of  the  reli- 
gion of  the  true  God,  to  draw  nigh  to  the  Divinity,  to 
become  united  to  it,  to  renew  the  bonds  broken  between 
the  Divinity  and  himself,  and  to  possess  it  in  very  truth. 
We  have  the  strongest  evidence  that  it  was  not  sufficient 
for  him  to  adore  the  Divinity  in  the  heavens  afar  off, 
but  that  he  ardently  desired  that  heaven  should  bow 
down  and  thus  draw  nigh  to  the  earth.  The  saints  of 
the  old  covenant,  the  worshipers  of  the  one  and  the 
holy  God,  were  not  satisfied'  with  their  condition. 
They  wanted  more  than  that  which  they  had,  as  was 
shown  by  their  look  constantly  directed  onward  ;  and 
they  cried  out,  by  the  mouth  of  one  of  their  number, 


172  THE   REDEEMER. 

"  As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  water-brooks,  so  pant- 
eth  my  soul  after  thee,  0  God.  My  soul  thirsteth  for 
God,  the  living  God."  Ps.  xlii.  1,  2.  Endeavor  not, 
then,  to  content  a  heart  that  has  felt  such  longings 
with  a  Saviour  who  shall  be  less  than  God. 

We  have  just  been  contemplating  the  incarnation 
with  special  reference  to  its  divine  aspect  :  its  human 
side,  the  porfect  humanity  of  the  Redeemer,  his  hu- 
manity humiliated,  suffering,  crucified,  is  equally  the 
object  of  our  desires.  Hope  is  preceded  b}^  the  grief 
of  condemnation.  This  sorrow  withers  the  heart  of 
man  ;  envelops  life  in  the  vail  of  God's  wrath.  The 
weight  of  his  sins  crushes  him.  In  vain  flatter  him, 
in  vain  soothe  his  pride,  he  feels  that  he  belongs  to  a 
fallen  and  accursed  race.  It  is  in  vain  that  he  tastes 
of  pleasure  ;  the  gnawing  worm,  the  worm  that  dies  not, 
is  in  the  fruit.  It  is  in  vain  that  he  darts  forth  eagerly 
into  external  activity,  and  becomes  an  orator  or  a 
warrior,  and  covers  himself  with  glory  ;  he  does  not 
escape  from  a  gloomy  fear  of  death,  or  an  intense  dis- 
relish for  life.  He  knows  that  for  him  the  present  life  is 
desolate,  the  future  life  fearful,  for  he  is  dependent  upon 
an  offended  and  angry  God.  Oh,  how  he  longs  to 
appease  him  !  He  takes  the  fairest  fruits  of  his  fields 
and  places  them  upon  the  altar,  but  he  returns  from 
it  troubled  as  before.  Sometimes  he  takes  the  most 
prized,  the  firstlings  of  his  flocks.  He  multiplies  sac- 
rifices, he  offers  even  hecatombs  of  victims.  The  Deity 
is  not  appeased.  A  human  propitiation  is  needed,  for  the 
entire  race  feels  itself  to  be  guilty  before  God.  The 
privations  which  man  undergoes  in  order  to  offer  sac- 
rifices are  thoroughly  inadequate.     Therefore  he  will 


THE  NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  173 

hesitate  no  longer  ;  oh,  sight  of  horror  !  he  will  take 
his  child,  he  will  take  his  brother.  He  will  sacrifice 
them  without  pity,  provided  only  that  God  be  appeased. 
But  he  is  not  appeased,  for  the  victim  was  defiled. 
The  lamb  or  the  sheep  without  blemish  were  indeed 
pure  offerings,  but  were  not  human.  The  human  sac- 
rifice is  not  a  pure  sacrifice.  There  must  then  be 
found  a  sacrifice  at  once  spotless  and  human.  And  it 
is  such  a  sacrifice  which  from  altar  to  altar  is  implored 
with  tears  and  blood  in  supplications  to  that  heaven 
which  is  still  shut  up. 

Those  who  wish  to  remove  from  the  Saviour  the  idea 
of  sacrifice,  and  see  in  him  only  the  revealer  of  divine 
love,  forget  these  terrible  manifestations  of  con- 
science, which  though  erring  is  also  sovereign,  and 
smitten  with  a  cruel  madness  in  its  burning  but  mis- 
taken thirst  for  redemption.  They  have  not  beheld 
those  bloody  altars  which  would  re-appear  to-morrow 
if  the  Lamb  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world  were 
removed  from  our  eyes,  —  altars  which  rise  everywhere 
when  he  is  not  known.  Doubtless  this  longing,  this 
need  of  the  conscience,  is  at  once  purified  and  satisfied 
by  the  gospel  ;  but  no  ingenious  theory  shall  tear  it 
from  the  gospel  ;  and  we  have  the  right  to  say.  It  is 
not  only  a  God  of  glory,  it  is  a  God-man  ;  it  is  an 
atoning  sacrifice  for  which  lost  man  cries  out  ;  and  as 
long  as  he  shall  not  find  it  will  he  seek  for  it.  If 
Christianity  gives  it  not  to  him,  he  will  go  farther.  Lo  ! 
these  many  ages  has  he  sighed  after  the  incarnation, 
the  incarnation  as  connected  with  the  redeeming  sacri- 
fice, and  he  will  not  be  satisfied  with  less. 

Tins  also  was  the  thing  promised  to  him.     His  de- 

15* 


174  THE  MEDEEMER. 

sire  is  but  the  inward  promise,  as  the  promise  is  but 
the  divine  sanction  of  his  desire.  I  shall  not  repeat 
the  elucidations  I  have  given  of  the  prophecies  under 
the  old  dispensation.  Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  Isaiah, 
who  described  the  Saviour  beforehand  as  the  Counselor, 
the  Wonderful,  the  Son  of  the  Most  High,  called  him, 
at  the  same  time,  the  man  of  sorrow,  the  despised,  the 
slain  lamb.  -  Thus  ancient  prophecy  acknowledged  in 
his  person  man  and  God,  the  victim  and  the  king. 
Was  not  the  incarnation  implicitly  enfolded  in  the 
first  prophecy  ?  Was  not  that  seed  of  the  woman  which 
should  crush  the  serpent,  that  very  humanity,  fully  as- 
similated by  Grod  ?  and  did  not  the  wound  inflicted  by 
the  serpent  figuratively  set  forth,  in  a  wonderful  way, 
the  reality  of  an  incarnation  reaching  even  to  suffering 
and  to  death  ? 

Both  man  and  God,  the  Saviour  ought  then  to  be,  as 
declared  alike  by  the  promises  of  heaven  and  the  de- 
sires of  earth.  Was  he  this  ?  In  other  words.  Has 
the  Saviour  come  ?  Such  is  the  question  which  is  set- 
tled by  our  text  :  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh,  and 
dwelt  among  us." 

We  know  that  the  heart  of  man  seeks  not  less,  and 
that  God  has  not  promised  less.  Let  us  now  consider 
the  fiûfillment  of  the  desire  and  the  realization  of  this 
promise,  agreeably  to  the  invitation  contained  in  these 
few  words  which  comprehend  the  whole  Christian 
scheme.  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh  :  "  what  does  this 
mean,  if  not  that  antecedently  to  its  becoming  flesh  it 
existed  in  God  ?  Thé  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not, 
then,  merely  a  virtue  that  has  gone  out  from  God,  and 
comes  to  animate  a  hiiman  body,  resembling  a  sunbeam 


THE  NATURE   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  175 

shot  forth  at  a  given  moment.  No  :  the  Word  existed 
as  a  personal  being  before  the  incarnation.  Let  no  one 
charge  us  here  with  composing  a  scholastic  theology. 
The  eternal  divinity  of  the  Word,  of  the  Son  of  God,  is 
an  indispensable  condition  of  salvation.  If  the  divin- 
ity of  Jesus  Christ  consisted  only  in  a  divine  virtue,  in 
a  divine  influence,  it  would  have  nothing  special,  noth- 
ing absolutely  distinctive.  We  all  receive  more  or 
less  of  divine  influences.  The  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ 
might  then  be  spoken  of  as  ours  might  be  spoken  of, 
admitting  only  that  the  divine  influence  was  stronger 
in  his  case  than  in  ours.  When  men  deny  the  pre-ex- 
istence,  the  eternity,  of  the  Word  that  became  incar- 
nate in  Jesus  Christ,  they  deny  his  divinity  in  the  bibli- 
cal sense.  To  continue  speaking  of  his  divinity  is  to 
play  with  words,  is  to  escape  the  indignation  of  the 
Christian  conscience  by  equivocal  language  ;  it  is  to  be 
wanting  in  sincerity.  The  God  whom  we  need  is  the 
God  of  the  heavens,  for  he  it  is  whom  we  have  lost. 
The  incarnation  has  no  other  end  than  to  re-instate  us 
in  communion  with  him,  and  this  it  accomplishes  only 
if  the  incarnate  Word  is  verily  the  eternal  Word. 

This  is  not  all  ;  there  is  involved  not  only  the  reality 
of  our  salvation,  but  also  the  knowledge  of  the  true 
God.  "■  He  that  hath  not  the  Son  hath  not  the  Fa- 
ther." The  true  God,  that  God  who  is  free,  living, 
and  holy,  is  the  God  whose  name  was  declared  by  St. 
John  when  he  wrote  in  his  First  Epistle  "  God  is  love." 
A  God  who  is  not  love,  who  loveth  not,  is  a  God  who 
is  dead,  a  God  who  is  not  a  God.  Inclosed  within 
his  almightiness  as  in  a  desert,  he  would  be  but  the 
icy  and  inappreliensible  shadow  of  Divinity.    And  how 


176  THE   REDEEMER. 

could  God  be  from  all  eternity  a  God  of  love,  if  he 
had  no  person  to  love  ?  Will  you  say  that  from  all 
eternity  he  could  have  multiplied  his  creatures  ?  Be- 
ware !  that  is  identifying  the  Creator  with  the  creature  ; 
it  is  taking  from  him  the  freedom  of  creative  power  ; 
it  is  rendering  the  creature  the  necessary  complement 
of  his  being  ;  it  is  binding  God  to  the  world,  like  a 
slave  to  his  chain  ;  it  is  opening  the  abyss  of  panthe- 
ism! Where,  then,  will  you  find  the  perfect  object 
of  his  eternal  love, — -where,  except  in  himself?  Where, 
if  not  in  that  Speech,  in  that  Word  which  is  God, 
and  which  yet  is  distinct  from  him,  since  the  apostle 
tells  us  that  it  was  with  God  ?  The  Son  gives  us  the 
Father.  Through  him  we  acknowledge  and  we  adore 
the  eternal  love  ;  and,  seeing  love  grounded  in  the  very 
being  of  God,  we  understand  that  it  is  the  law  of  the 
universe.  The  Word  was  at  the  beginning  the  bright- 
ness, the  enstamped  image  of  the  Divine  Glory,  and, 
above  all,  the  object  of  his  love.  The  only  Son,  says 
St.  John,  was  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  ;  sublime 
and  touching  expression,  which  discloses  to  us  in 
eternity  that  which  love  possesses  of  holiest  and  ten- 
derest,  and  which  alone  enables  us  to  measure  the 
extent  of  the  redccmino;  Sacrifice  !  He  who  sees  the 
divinity  of  Jesus  Christ  only  in  his  holiness  does  not 
comprehend  the  entire  scope  of  his  sacrifice.  .  He  is 
moved  when  he  sees  Jesus  beaten,  outraged,  and  im- 
molated ;  but  what  would  he  then  feel,  if  he  should 
say  within  himself.  It  is  from  the  bosom  of  the  Father 
that  he  descended  to  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  to 
the  governor's  hall,  and  even  to  the  cross  !  it  is  the 
only  Son  of  the  Father  who  is  thus  trodden  under 


THE   NATUIÎE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  177 

foot  !  and  it  is  the  Father  who  delivered  him  up  to 
shame  for  a  rebellious  race  !  Oh  love  of  the  Son  ! 
love  of  the  Father  !  profound  abysses  of  love  !  We  are 
not  angels  ;  and  if  they  can  not  discern  your  depths, 
how  shall  it  be  with  us?  We  must  be  silent  and  adore. 
Word  that  wast  made  flesh,  we  adore  thee  in  the  bo- 
som of  the  Father,  in  the  eternity  where  thou  reignedst 
antecedently  to  the  existence  of  a  single  creature  ! 
Even  to  that  hight  we  must  asèend  to  comprehend 
thy  humiliation  and  thy  immolation. 

The  Word  that  was  made  flesh  was  eternal  :  such  is 
the  first  lesson  contained  in  our  text.  Another  it 
gives  us  which  is  very  precious,  in  setting  forth  the 
living  character  of  God's  revelations.  Speech  is  the 
revelation  of  our  souls.  The  Word  of  God  is  in  like 
manner  his  revelation.  It  is  not  with  God's  Word  as 
with  ours.  Our  soul  manifests  itself  through  words 
which  vanish  away  immediately  after  having  vibrated 
in  the  air,  whose  pulsations  they  have  stirred.  The 
Word  of  God  is  not  a  word  which  passes  away  when 
once  pronounced.  A  fearful  revelation  of  the  living 
and  eternal  God,  it  is  living  and  eternal  as  he  is.  It 
is  not  a  bare  collection  of  a  few  words  ;  it  is  a  personal 
being,  an  enstamped  image  of  the  Father,  the  very 
brightness  of  his  glory.  Thus  each  saying  of  the  liv- 
ing Word  is  a  work  which  possesses  life  like  itself. 
God  has  spoken  in  eternity,  and  this  Word  is  the  only 
Son  of  the  Father,  God  like  himself.  He  has  spoken 
in  time,  and  of  this  Word  creation  was  the  echo.  ''All 
things  were  made  by  him."  "  God  said.  Lot  there 
be  light,  and  there  was  light."  He  has  spoken  in  rev- 
elation, and  this  Word  is  not  simply  a  doctiine,  it  is  a 


178  THE   REDEEMER. 

magnificent  reality  ;  each  of  its  syllables  was  a  fact  : 
now  the  election  of  Israel,  now  the  law,  now  proph- 
ecy in  its  majestic  whole,  and  now  great  miracles. 
Finally,  the  Word  has  spoken  in  redemption,  and  this 
Word  was  the  greatest  of  all  events  ;  it  was  the  In- 
carnation. It  was  made  flesh,  our  text  declares.  It 
poured  itself  in  all  its  fullness  into  a  human  soul  ;  it 
lived  there,  it  loved  there  ;  in  that  life  and  death  it 
manifested  itself,  and  men  could  say  of  it,  that  it 
"  hath  dwelt  among  us."  Thus,  whether  we  consider 
it  in  the  heavens,  whether  we  consider  it  on  the  earth, 
the  Word  of  God  is  always  living.  This  distinguishes 
it  from  the  word  of  men  ;  this  constitutes  its  sovereign 
power.  It  is  not  a  system,  were  it  the  most  per- 
fect of  all  systems  ;  it  is  a  living  reality  throughout 
all  ages,  it  is  a  manifestation  rather  than  a  demonstra- 
tion. A  revelation  which  is  an  incarnation  becomes 
palpable,  evident  to  the  simplest  minds  ;  and  we  can 
say  with  an  apostle,  "  That  which  we  have  seen  with 
our  eyes,  that  which  our  hands  have  touched,  that  de- 
clare we  unto  you."  And  truly  humanity  had  great 
need  of  such  a  revelation.  She  had  in  her  anticipa- 
tions the  germ  of  the  Word  ;  she  had  it  as  a  floating 
idea  ;  the  incarnation  alone  could  impart  it  to  her  in 
its  healthful  power.  It  was  not  the  matter  of  chief 
importance  to  overthrow  a  false  doctrine,  for  in  order 
to  accomplish  that  it  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
put  in  its  place  a  true  doctrine  ;  but  the  object  was  to 
destroy  the  works  of  sin.  A  great  work  of  God  was 
therefore  necessary.  It  was  necessary  to  vanqursh 
the  power  of  darkness  present  upon  the  earth.  The 
presence  of  the  power  of  love  thus  became  indispensa- 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.                      179  i 

i 

ble.     The  word  of  hell,  a  word  of  revolt  and  of  pride,  j 

had  become  incorporate  in  humanity,  had  been  made  ] 

flesh,  was  becoming  incarnate  every  day.     The  Word  ' 

of  heaven  was  equally  to  become  incarnate.     Thus  | 

our  text,  having  first  brouglit  before  our  minds  the  ; 
eternity  of  the  Word,  instructs  us  with  regard  to  the 

method  of  his  revelations, — living  revelations,  because  ' 

they  are  perfect  and  effectual.  ] 

The  apostle   John  does  «not  expatiate   concerning  | 
even  the  fact  of  the  incarnation.     He  is  content  to 
state  it  without  defining  it  ;  because  it  evades  every 
attempt  at  reducing  it  to  a  formula.     It  comprehends 

an  unfathomable  mystery.     The  gospel  reveals  it  to  i 

us  ;   it  declares  to  us  how,  by  his  miraculous  birth,  : 
Jesus   Christ   was    removed   from  the   defilement  of 
original  sin.     It  constantly  affirms  that  he  is  the  son 

of  man  and  the  Son  of  God.    It  goes  no  further.    Why  ; 
has  not  its  wise  reserve  been  oftener  imitated  ?    With 
how  many  difficulties  has  the  theology  of  men  hedged 

about  this  great  doctrine  !     Some  have  endeavored,  as  ' 

if  with  a  line,  to  measure  precisely  the  sphere  of  di-  i 

vinity  and  the  sphere  of  humanity  in  Christ  Jesus.  ' 

They  have  sought  to  tell  exactly  where  the  human  or  ! 

where  the  divine  begins  and  ends.     They  have  sue-  \ 

ceeded  in  chilling  devotion,  and  in  removing  from  the  Î 

person  of  Christ  its  living  unity,  by  the  very  efforts  ; 

which  aimed  to  circumscribe  his  human  or  his  divine  ! 

nature    within   appropriate  limits.     This  division   of  I 
Christ's  being  into  fragments  has  often  resulted  in  a 

complete  duality.     Thus,  in  the  writings  of  some  of  j 

the  fathers,  his  divinity  is  in  such  a  manner  separated  ; 
from  his  humanity,  that,  according  to  them,  the  for- 


180  THE   REDEEMER. 

mer  is  present  at  liis  passion,  like  any  unmoved  spec- 
tator. In  these  theological  speculations  there  is  some- 
thing false,  strained,  and  cold,  which  was  unknown  to 
the  great  apostolic  ago.  ^ye  are  satisfied  with  that 
which  satisfied  it.*  God,  says  St.  Paul,  was  mani- 
fested in  the  flesh  ;  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  dwelt 
bodily  in  Christ.  We  conclude  from  these  words, 
that  the  divine  and  the  human  nature  profoundly  in- 
terpenetrate each  other  in  the  Redeemer.  We  ought 
to  add  that  divinity,  in  uniting  itself  with  condemned 
humanity,  vails  its  luster.  Jesus  Christ,  says  St.  Paul 
again,  being  equal  with  God,  humbled  himself;  he 
took  on  him  the  form  of  a  servant.  This  humiliation 
is  free  and  voluntary,  and  consequently  it  could  not 
be  derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the  divine  nature. 

Let  us  take  heed,  also,  not  to  detract  from  the  hu- 
manity of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  less  needful  to  our 
salvation  than  his  divinity.  The  incarnate  Word  was 
in  reality  the  second  Adam  ;  the  lost  race  of  man  had 
desired  him,  had  called  for  him  ;  and  so  well  had  he 
represented  them,  that  in  fighting  for  them  against  Sa- 
tan he  had  been  fighting  for  himself;  and,  according  to 
the  beautiful  image  of  one  of  the  fathers,  he  was  like 
a  man  who  defends  his  own  hearth  or  his  native  land.f 

*  We  need  scientific  development  of  truth  in  one  age  and  another,  to 
meet  and  satisfy  the  real  and  successively  manifested  wants  of  the  intellect 
of  the  church  in  the  different  eras  of  its  existence,  and  the  different  periods 
of  its  growth  on  the  earth.  The  cultivated  and  orderly  mind  craves  this, 
grasps  it,  and  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  truth  in  its  scientific 
form,  and  in  the  rounded  fullness  and  completeness  of  system.  There  is 
in  every  age  of  the  church  an  irrepressible  stress  and  urgency  in  this  di- 
rection ;  it  must  be  gratified  ;  nor  is  it  in  any  way  incompatible  with  the 
purest  spiritual  life  and  joy.  —  Tii. 

t  "Erai  homo  pro  fratrijus  certans.''''    Ireuosus,  p.  284. 


THE  MATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  181 

Ho  was  then  pre-eminently  the  man,  whilst  he  was  one 
with  the  Father  ;  and  thus  was  he  enabled  to  complete 
the  redemptive  sacrifice  upon  the  cross,  bringing  nigh 
the  heart  of  man  to  God,  and  the  heart  of  God  to  man. 
Let  us  be  satisfied  with  recognizing  the  oneness  of  the 
divine  and  the  human  nature  in  him,  and  have  a  mys- 
tery so  great  and  so  unspeakable  sheltered  from  our 
subtile  distinctions.  For  ourselves,  we  fully  accept 
the  beautiful  saying  of  Irenîeus  :  "  The  Word  of  God 
became  man  in  order  to  accustom  man  to  receive  God, 
and  God  to  dwell  in  man."  *  We  know  not  a  more 
sublime  paraphrase  of  the  language  of  St.  John  :  "  The 
Word  was  made  flesh." 

And  now  that  we  have  considered  the  great  doctrine 
of  the  divinity  and  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ  in  itself, 
and  have  perceived  that  it  alone  responds  to  the  prom- 
ises and  the  revelation  of  God,  and  also  to  the  needs 
of  our  hearts,  let  us  rapidly  survey  some  of  the  proofs 
by  which,  in  our  view,  this  doctrine  is  victoriously  es- 
tablished. And  first,  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ  at 
every  one  of  its  phases  exhibits  to  us  divinity  and  hu- 
manity closely  united  in  his  person.  Go  back  to  his 
advent  into  our  world.  See  this  little  child  lying  in 
its  swaddling-clothes  in  the  manger,  resembling  all 
new-born  babes,  feeble,  frail  like  them,  poorer  than  the 
poorest  :  that  is  the  man.  But  what  rays  of  glory  sur- 
round him  !  The  armies  of  the  skies  have  sung  his 
birth-,  the  very  stars  have  declared  it,  and  wise  men 
were  seen  coming  from  the  East  to  worship  him  :  that 
is  the  God.     He  submitted  himself  to  the  conditions 

*  "  Verbuin  Jilius  hominis /actus  est  ut  assuescerit  Deum  habitare  in 
homine.''    Iren.,p.  289. 
10 


182  THE   REDEEMER. 

of  slow  and  gradual  development  pertaining  to  our  na- 
ture, and  an  evangelist  could  say  of  him,  that  he  in- 
creased in  stature  and  in  grace.  He  also  has  passed 
through  that  first  period  of  human  life,  at  once  so  hu- 
miliating and  so  touching,  in  which  thought  and  lan- 
guage are  unfolded  step  by  step  :  that  is  the  man. 
From  his  tenclcjrest  years  his  holiness  was  disclosed 
by  means  of  his  gentle  and  complete  obedience  to  his 
parents.  At  twelve  years  of  age,  in  the  temple,  he 
confounded  the  judges  and  the  doctors  of  the  law  at 
Jerusalem,  and  revealed  his  perfect  communion  with 
his  Father  :  that  is  the  God. 

He  has  no  place  where  to  lay  his  head.  He  traverses 
the  villages  of  Judaea  and  Samaria,  and  men  see  him 
sit  down  wearied  with  his  journey.  He  is  hungry,  he 
is  athirst  ;  he  falls  under  the  weight  of  his  cross  ;  the 
reeds  of  the  soldiers  cover  his  face  with  blood  ;  his 
body  is  torn  by  the  nails  as  he  hangs  upon  the  tree  : 
this  is  the  man.  But  at  the  same  time  he  lords  it 
over  nature  ;  he  speaks  to  the  waves  of  tlie  sea,  and 
they  are  calmed  ;  he  touches  the  blind  man,  and  his 
eyes  are  opened  ;  he  speaks  a  word  to  the  paralytic, 
and  he  rises  and  walks  :  that  is  God.  His  sorrows 
throng  and  multiply  upon  him  ;  he  is  finally  cut  off  by 
the  strength  of  his  anguish  ;  he  dies  :  that  is  the  man. 
But  he  had  already  spoken  as  a  master  to  death  ;  the 
daughter  of  Jairus,  the  son  of  the  widow,  the  brother 
of  Martha  and  Mary,  had  been  raised  by  him  from  the 
dead.  He  will  himself  break  the  bonds  of  the  grave, 
and  break  them  for  all  :  and  this  reveals  the  God. 

If  we  pass  from  the  domain  of  the  outward  to  that 
of  the  spiritual  life,  the  divinity  and  humanity  of  the 


THE  NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  183 

Saviour  are  apparent  in  like  manner.  He  knew  the 
pains  of  loneliness,  and  those  of  mourning.  He 
groaned  within  himself  at  the  death  of  Lazarus.  "Je. 
sus  wept,"  says  the  evangelist:  that  is  the  man.  This 
same  Jesus  dried  up  the  tears  of  the  afflicted  with  the 
most  powerful  consolations  ;  men  came  to  him  smiting 
their  breasts,  and  went  from  him  with  thanksgivings 
upon  their  lips  :  that  is  the  God.  He  was  tempted  by 
Satan  ;  he  underwent  contact  with  him  in  the  desert  ; 
he  heard  his  treacherous  words,  like  the  first  Adam  in 
the  garden  of  Eden  :  and  in  this  we  behold  the  man. 
But  with  three  words  of  Scripture,  as  with  three  sharp 
arrows,  he  pierced  the  tempter  ;  and  at  the  end  of 
his  course  he  could  rightfully  say,  "  Satan  has  nothing 
in  me  :  "  this  is  the  God.  He  passed  through  the  har- 
rowing anguish  that  pertains  to  the  combats  of  the 
soul  ;  drops  of  sweat  were  seen  upon  his  brow  ;  he  lay 
in  the  dust  of  Gethsemane.  "  This  Jesus,"  we  read 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh,  oifered  up  prayers  and  supplications,  with  strong 
crying  and  tears,  unto  him  that  was  able  to  save  him 
from  death."  Heb.  v.  7.  This  is  the  man.  But 
scarcely  had  he  risen  up  from  his  prayer,  scarcely  had 
he  pronounced  the  words  of  supreme  obedience, 
"  Father,  tli^  will  be  done,"  when,  on  the  morrow  of 
that  terrible  day  of  his  suffering,  the  impious  troop  of 
his  enemies  fall,  smitten  to  the  earth  at  his  feet,  not 
being  able  to  endure  the  brightness  of  the  holiness 
and  the  love  which  shine  out  from  his  whole  beins:  : 
this  is  the  God.  He  was  brought  to  judgment;  he 
was  condemned  :  herein  we  see  the  man.  With  sov- 
ereign power  he  pardoneth  sins  :  herein  he  is  the  God. 


184  THE  REDEEMER. 

His  last  is  his  most  mysterious  conflict.  Bearing  the 
condemnation  of  a  world,  he  cries  out,  "  Father,  Father, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  "  this  is  the  man.  And 
at  the  same  moment  he  pronounces  the  great  "It  is 
finished  :  "  this  is  the  God.  Do  not  forget,  my  breth- 
ren, that  that  which  we  have  exhibited  to  you  as  dis- 
tinct and  separate  was  one  in  the  unity  of  life  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  confess  with  us  that  from  first  to  last  the 
gospel  history  has  been  but  a  commentary  upon  our 
text,  ''  The  Word  was  made  flesh." 

Jesus  Christ  himself  had  perpetual  consciousness  of 
his  divine  and  human  nature.  He  represented  him- 
self to  be  the  son  of  man  and  the  Son  of  God  ;  he  de- 
clared that  he  was  sent  into  the  world  by  the  Father 
to  save  those  who  should  believe  on  him.  He  com- 
manded his  disciples  to  baptize  repenting  sinners  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  thus  placing  himself  by  the  side  of  God  in  re- 
spect to  the  solemn  act  which  symbolizes  the  work  of 
conversion.  He  especially  insisted  upon  his  oneness 
with  the  Father,  in  his  last  conversations  with  his  dis- 
ciples, when  he  was  opening  the  depth  of  his  heart  to 
them,  and  when  he  was  communicating  to  them  his 
highest  teachings,  in  the  most  touching  form,  on  that 
solemn  evening  of  his  lonely  and  bloody  conflict.  He 
did  not  fear  to  say  to  them,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me 
hath  seen  the  Father.  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and 
the  life.  I  and  the  Father  are  one."  He  commanded 
his  followers  to  pray  in  his  name,  and  he  makes  their 
holiness  depend  on  their  union  with  him  :  "  I  am  the 
vine,  ye  are  the  branches."  Not  only  did  he  thus  in- 
struct his  disciples,  but  he  suffered  his  enemies  to  ac- 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  185 

cuse  him  of  making  himself  equal  with  God.  He  did 
not  protest  against  the  accusation  ;  he  remained  silent 
even  under  the  sentence  of  condemnation.  To  keep 
silence  under  such  circumstances  was  to  admit  the  ac- 
cusation, was  to  acknowledge  the  truth  of  the  facts 
alleged.  If  the  accusation  was  false,  it  was  needful  at 
all  hazards  to  speak.  It  was  not  allowable  for  him 
not  to  justify  himself,  for  it  is  never  allowable  to  suffer 
a  wrong  to  be  committed  when  it  can  be  prevented. 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  Jesus  Christ  had  a  clear 
consciousness  of  his  divinity. 

The  apostolical  church  did  not  cease  to  proclaim  it. 
She  attributed  the  same  works  to  Jesus  Christ  as  to 
God  :  participation  in  the  creation  and  government  of 
the  world  ;  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  and  the  judg- 
ment ;  the  government  of  the  church,  which  presupposes 
omnipotence  and  omniscience.  More  than  this  :  the 
primitive  church  positively  adored  Jesus  Christ  ;  "  Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit,"  exclaimed  the  first  martyr  at 
the  moment  of  his  suffering.  The  apostolical  church 
invoked  him  as  her  Lord  and  her  God.  She  declared 
that  every  knee  should  bow  unto  him.  There  is, 
then,  plainly  no  middle  position  ;  either  the  church 
rightfully  acknowledged  his  perfect  divinity,  or  she 
fell  into  gross  idolatry.  The  church  of  the  apostles 
and  martyrs  idolatrous  !  There  are  some  suppositions 
which  one  is  ashamed  to  state. 

From  all  these  considerations  it  results  that  if  there 
exists  any  doctrine  established  by  the  most  irrefraga- 
ble testimonies,  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  divine  and  hu- 
man nature  of  Jesus  Christ.  With  it  would  fall  Chris- 
tianity as  a  whole,  and  that  whicJi  would  be  preserved 

16* 


186  THE   BE  DEE  MER. 

out  of  it  would  no  longer  be  wortli  speaking  of. 
Wherever  this  truth  has  been  impaired,  the  very  foun- 
dations of  religion  have  been  shaken.  All  has  been 
vacillating,  and  the  energetic  efforts  of  the  church  to 
re-establish  this  "  corner-stone  "  have  manifested  in 
all  ages  her  conviction  that  her  preservation  and  her 
progress  were  inseparably  connected  with  the  triumph 
of  this  doctrine. 

You,  then,  who  from  different  points  of  view  do  not 
admit  this  doctrine,  ought  not  to  practice  any  illusion 
upon  yourselves  ;  you  are  exhibiting  yourselves  as  the 
destroyers  of  Christianity.  There  are  those  among 
you  who  accept  this  position  ;  they  must  suffer  us  to 
ask  them  on  behalf  of  what  interest  ?  What  is  the  mo- 
tive which  impels  you  to  reject  the  eternal  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ  ?  Is  it  on  God's  behalf  ?  Is  it  for  man's 
sake  ?  On  God's  behalf,  you  will  perhaps  reply,  as 
might  be  inferred  from  that  name  of  deist,  to  which 
really  you  have  so  little  claim.  A  deist,  according  to 
the  etymology  of  the  word,  ought  to  defend  the  cause 
of  God  more  zealously  than  all  other  men  ;  but,  in 
this  sense,  no  one  is  less  so  than  you.  We  have  shown 
you  what  God  would  be  without  the  eternal  Word  ;  the 
Father  without  the  Son  ceases  to  be  the  Father.  In- 
stead of  the  living  God,  of  the  God  whose  name  is  love, 
whose  bowels  are  moved  with  compassion  toward  us, 
who  speaks  to  us  and  delivers  us,  you  give  us  a  God 
separated,  remote,  hard,  and  inflexible,  who  cares  no 
more  for  our  world  than  we  for  the  leaf  which  our 
hand  has  cast  to  the  wind.  You  give  us  a  phantom  in 
the  place  of  a  reality.  We  know  not  where  to  find 
your  God,  and  we  know  that,  if  we  should  succeed  in 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  187 

linding  liirn,  lie  has  neither  a  word  of  love,  nor  any 
delivcranco  reserved  for  us.  He  has  never  dried  one 
tear,  or  rejoiced  one  heart,  not  even  yonrs.  Because 
you  have  a  dry  heart,  you  are  pleased  to  make  a  God 
arid  and  cold  like  yourselves  ;  and  you  declare  your- 
selves to  be  above  all  men  the  followers  of  God  !  You 
have  calumniated  him  in  representing  him  as  unfeel- 
ing as  you  are,  and,  far  from  serving  his  cause,  you 
would  have  injured  it  for  ever  if  men  had  believed  you 
on  your  word,  for  humanity  will  never  be  satisfied  with 
a  mute  and  inactive  Deity.  Will  you  pretend  that 
his  greatness  would  be  tarnished  if  he  should  concern 
himself  with  our  poor  race  to  the  extent  of  consent- 
ing to  the  incarnation  of  his  Son  ?  You  place  great- 
ness then  solely  in  outward  glory,  and  you  have  never 
understood  that  there  is  an  order  of  greatness  vastly 
superior  to  this  ;  namely,  the  greatness  of  charity.  In 
this  point  of  view  nothing  is  more  beautiful,  nothing  is 
more  worthy  of  God,  than  the  voluntary  humiliation  of 
his  love  on  behalf  of  a  feeble  creation.  The  more  fee- 
ble the  being,  tlie  greater  seems  that  love  which  saved 
him.  Speak  not  to  us,  therefore,  of  your  concern  for 
God's  glory.  Once  more,  "  He  that  hath  not  the  Son 
hath  not  the  Father." 

Will  you  speak  to  us  of  your  interest  on  man's  be- 
half ?  But  do  you  not  then  know  that  his  conscience 
has  never  asked  for  anything  besides  that  which  God 
has  given  him  ?  Will  you  claim  to  be  better  informed 
than  the  human  conscience,  speaking  through  six  thou- 
sand years  ?  How  is  it  that  you  do  not  perceive  that 
in  taking  away  Christ  as  God,  you  take  water  from  the 
soul's  burning  thirst,  bread  from  its  consuming  hunger, 


188  .  THE   REDEEMER. 

you  mock  its  long-cherished  aspirations  ?  Without 
pausing  to  consider  humanity  in  general,  I  will  inquire 
of  you.  Are  you  contented  with  your  doctrine?  does  it 
satisfy  you  ?  Has  it  cheered  you  in  your  days  of  sad- 
ness ?  Have  you  need  of  nothing  ?  You  will  not  dare 
to  say  that  you  have  need  of  nothing.  You  will  not 
venture  to  say  this,  whatever  be  your  illusions,  for 
you  have  need  of  all  things,  and  this  all  is  brought  to 
us  by  the  Saviour,  the  Deliverer,  alone,  in  giving  us 
God. 

There  are  other  mon  who  deny  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ  while  pretanding  at  the  same  time  to  remain 
Christians.  They  must  learn  that  this  intermediate 
position  is  not  possible.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  an 
intermediate  position.  Their  homage  to  Jesus  Christ 
covers  a  terrible  charge  which  they  aim  against  him  ; 
they  accuse  him  of  lying  and  of  hypocrisy.  Is  it  true, 
yes  or  no,  that  Jesus  Christ  declared  his  divinity  ?  If 
it  is  clearer  than  the  light  that  he  represented  himself 
as  the  Son  of  God,  it  is  equally  clear  that  to  deny  his 
divinity  is  to  proclaim  him  a  liar  in  the  face  of  the 
world.  It  avails  nothing  to  say,  with  a  philosopher, 
''The  morality  of  the  gospel  touches  me  and  pene- 
trates me."  If  Jesus  Christ  is  not  the  Son  of  God, 
the  gospel  ought  to  be  torn  in  pieces  as  an  imposture. 
Jesus  Christ  spoke  falsely  all  his  life.  He  deceived 
his  disciples  the  last  night  he  spent  with  them.  He 
knowingly  suffered  his  adversaries  to  commit  a  fear- 
ful crime,  which  by  a  word  he  could  have  caused  them 
to  shun.  Let  men  speak  no  more  of  his  holiness,  of 
his  moral  purity  !  We  are  obliged  to  say  that  in  a 
sense  the  Jews  and  Pilate  condemned  him  justly.     Do 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  189 

thou  forgive  these  words,  0  Lord  !  It  pains  us  to  utter 
them  ;  forgive  them  for  the  sake  of  the  object  at  which 
we  are  aiming,  and  that  is,  to  tear  off  the  vail  from 
those  pretended  friends  of  the  gospel  who  think  to 
love  thee  while  accusing  thee  of  imposture.  Perhaps 
they  will  be  affrighted  at  the  thought  of  the  blas- 
phemy hidden  beneath  their  denial  ;  perhaps,  when 
they  find  it  impossible  to  see  an  impostor  in  the  humble 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  in  the  meek  and  lowly  Master,  in 
the  victim  resigned  and  compassionate  up  to  the  hour 
of  his  suffering,  they  will  fall  at  thy  feet,  and  cry  out, 
"  If  it  be  absolutely  true  that  he  was  either  a  cheat  or 
a  God,  we  can  not  hesitate  ;  yes,  that  man  was  God  !  " 

Let  all  those  who  are  tempted  to  detract  from  the 
divinity  of  Christ  weigh  well  these  considerations. 
Let  them  consider  that  on  the  day  when  the  church 
shall  feel  herself  attacked  anew  upon  this  vital  point, 
though  it  were  by  the  most  seductive  mysticism,  her 
voice,  her  mighty  voice,  which  has  no  need  of  councils 
to  make  itself  heard,  will  sound  forth  as  formerly  in 
the  days  of  Arius  or  of  Socinus.  The  most  terrible 
of  all  excommunications  for  a  doctrine  is  this  cry  of 
terror  and  indignation  on  the  part  of  the  church  when 
assailed  in  the  person  of  her  divine  Bridegroom,  and 
crying  out,  like  thé  women  of  Jerusalem,  "  I  seek  for 
my  Saviour,  and  I  know  not  where  they  have  laid 
him."  Ah  !  may  the  old  rationalism,  now  passing 
away,  experience  no  revival  under  more  specious  forms  ! 
Quickly  would  its  true  character  be  discerned,  and  it 
would  be  but  the  dead  burying  the  dead. 

To  you.  Christians,  is  chiefly  confided  the  care  of 
preserving  this  glorious  doctrine.     Doctrines  are  set 


190  TUE   REDEEMER. 

forth  in  confessions  of  faith  ;  but  they  may  sleep  there. 
They  are  truly  preserved  only  by  a  living  faith.  Men 
doubt  at  our  side  concerning  the  human  and  divine 
nature  of  Jesus  Christ  :  let  us  show  forth  that  which 
we  find  in  him  of  coiisolation,  strength,  and  blessed- 
ness. Jesus  Christ  was  a  man  like  unto  us,  tried  in 
all  things,  except  sin  :  let  us  then  go  to  him  with  per- 
fect freedom,  snre  of  his  compassion.  We  tread  no 
path  in  life  where  we  do  not  find  his  footsteps.  Are 
we  walking  in  the  rough  pathway  of  poverty  ?  He 
passed  there  before  us.  Are  we  in  the  road  of  suffer- 
ing ?  He  has  preceded  us.  Are  we  exposed  to  oppro- 
brium ?  Who  of  us  shall  be  insulted  as  he  was  ?  Do 
we  weep  for  one  dearly  beloved  ?  "I,  too,  have  wept," 
he  seems  to  say  unto  us.  And,  finally,  do  we  reach  the 
gloomy  and  rough  valley  of  death  ?  He  knows  its 
loneliness  and  its  anguish.  "  He  was  made  like  unto 
his  brethren  in  all  things,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful 
high  priest."  Heb.  ii.  17.  But  this  brother  in  toils,  in 
conflict,  and  in  sorrow,  is  at  the  same  time  the  mighty 
God.  In  him  we  are  more  than  conquerors.  If 
Satan  and  the  world  unite  against  him,  we  are  certain 
of  gaining  the  victory.  It  has  been  already  gained  by 
him.  His  glory  shall  be  our  glory.  The  past  is  blotted 
out,  the  present  is  transformed,  and  the  future  is  radi- 
ant with  hope  ;  for  the  God-man  died  for  our  offenses, 
rose  again  for  our  justification,  and  ascended  up  to 
heaven  to  prepare  a  place  for  us,  being  always  present 
in  the  midst  of  us  by  his  Spirit  to  direct  his  people,  and 
to  strengthen  the  poor  Christian  bending  under  his 
daily  cross.  Ah  !  may  he,  as  long  as  he  lives  in  this 
body,  live  in  an  ever  strengthening  faith  in  his  Redeem- 


THE   NATURE    OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  191 

er's  humanity  and  divinity  :  by  the  former,  assured  of 
his  Redeemer's  tender  sympathy  ;  by  the  latter,  of  his 
effectual  help  ;  and  by  both,  of  eternal  salvation.  Here 
on  earth  may  he  raise  that  song,  which  he  shall  finish 
and  repeat  in  heaven  with  angels  and  saints  :  "  Worthy 
is  the  Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  power,  and 
riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength,  and  honor,  and 
glory,  and  blessing  !  Unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the 
throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  be  blessing,  and  honor, 
and  glory,  and  power,  for  ever  and  ever  !  "  Rev.  v. 
12, 13. 


CHAPTER  YI. 

THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS   CHRIST. 
**  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill."  —  Matt.  v.  17. 

IN  our  last  discourse  we  considered  the  nature  of 
Jesus  Christ.  We  confessed  and  adored  in  his 
person  the  God-man.  To-day  we  inquire,  not  what 
he  was,  but  what  did  he  come  to  do  upon  the 
earth  ?  what  was  his  plan  ?  That  Jesus  Christ  had  a 
well-settled  plan  follows  from  his  declarations  and 
from  his  whole  life.  How  many  times  did  he  not 
speak  of  the  work  which  he  had  come  to  accomplish  ! 
"  Father,  I  have  finished,"  he  said,  the  evening  before 
his  death,  —  "I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest  me  to  do."  What  a  wonderful  unity  in  his 
ministry  !  It  is  animated  by  one  and  the  same 
thought,  from  the  first  day  until  the  last.  He 
marched  onward  toward  the  end  which  he  had  pre- 
scribed to  himself,  without  a  single  deviation  from  his 
course,  in  the  very  straightest  path,  knowing  no  rest 
and  no  recreation.  Not  one  act  of  his  can  be  cited 
which  was  not  the  rigorous  result  of  his  plan.  And 
yet  there  is  nothing  constrained  in  him  ;  he  does  not 
resemble  those  men  who  are  imprisoned  in  their  idea 
as  in  a  vise.  We  feel  that  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  in  some  sort  incorporated  with  him  ;  he  is  so  deeply 
imbued  with  it  that  everything  in  his  life  is  connected 

192 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  193 

with  it  in  the  most  natural  and  spontaneous  manner. 
He  moves  with  freedom  within  the  limits  which  he 
has  traced  for  himself.  His  discourses  and  his  works 
flow  from  a  living  spring,  without  calculation  and 
without  premeditation.  How,  then,  could  the  charge 
possibly  be  made  against  Jesus  Christ,  that  he  had  not 
formed  a  plan  which  was  single  and  special  ? 

Some  rationalists  have  affirmed  that  he  devised  a 
]3lan,  at  first,  which  failed,  and  that  he  then  devised 
another  entirely  different.  In  this  view,  the  first  plan 
of  Jesus  Christ  was  to  restore  the  kingdom  of  Judah 
with  great  splendor,  and  to  confer  new  glory  upon  the 
Jewish  theocracy.  With  this  design,  as  they  think, 
he  announced  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth  the  ac- 
ceptable year  of  the  Lord  ;  but  not  finding  the  ex- 
pected favor  and  aid,  he  modified  his  plan  ;  and 
instead  of  announcing  the  acceptable  year,  he  pro- 
claims that  the  kingdom  of  God  belongs  to  those  who 
weep.  Thus  he  is  regarded  as  falling  back  upon  a 
spiritual  kingdom,  in  despair  of  his  object.  But  how 
explain  the  fact  in  accordance  with  this  supposition 
of  unbelief,  that  even  before  entering  upon  his  active 
ministry  Jesus  Christ  had  indignantly  rejected  in  the 
desert  the  suggestions  of  Satan,  all  of  which  sought 
to  materialize  his  work  ?  How  explain  that  one  of 
the  first  sayings  addressed  to  his  disciples  related  to 
his  death?  '' Destroy  this  temple,"  said  he  unto 
them,  ''  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up."  "  But," 
says  the  evangelist  John,  "  he  spake  of  the  temple  of 
his  body."  We  shall  not  attempt  to  refute  in  detail 
an  objection  to  which  history  palpably  gives  the  lie. 
There  is,  moreover,  one  fact  which  rises  above  all 

17 


194  THE  REDEEMER. 

others  ;  it  is  the  fact  of  the  divine  humanity  of  our 
Saviour.  Can  it  be  admitted  that  the  God-man  suf- 
fered his  designs  to  depend  upon  external  circum- 
stances, and  that  his  ultimate  plan  was  imposed  upon 
him  by  a  repulse  ?  Such  a  servile  dependence  upon 
actual  events  could  not  be  reconciled  with  his  char- 
acter as  Son  of  the  Most  High  God.  The  reality 
of  his  sacrifice  would  be  no  less  impaired  than  his 
divinity.  What  is  a  compulsory  sacrifice,  if  not  the 
mockery  of  a  sacrifice  ?  The  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ 
could  not  be  real,  except  as  it  was  voluntary.  It 
must  have  been  a  matter  of  free  consent  ;  and,  in  order 
to  be  an  object  of  free  consent,  it  must  have  been 
foreseen,  and,  as  it  were,  offered  in  advance.  Every- 
thing in  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ  breathes  a  sovereign 
and  absolute  freedom  ;  and  for  that  reason  it  is  the 
work  of  love.  "  I  have  power,"  said  our  Lord,  "  to 
lay  down  my  life,  and  power  to  take  it  again."  If  he 
laid  it  down,  it  was  not  because  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  act  otherwise  ;  it  was  of  his  free  good  pleasure, 
for  the  salvation  of  man.  The  plan  of  salvation  was 
then  plainly  formed  by  him,  and  it  is  precisely  the 
deep  consciousness  which  he  ever  had  of  this  fact 
which  stamps  his  entire  work  with  the  seal  of 
divinity. 

Let  us  now,  my  brethren,  endeavor  to  learn  what 
was  in  all  its  grandeur  this  sublime  plan  of  the  Son 
of  God.  I  find  it  admirably  defined  in  the  words  of 
my  text  :  "  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill." 
The  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  is  to  fulfill  the  preparatory 
period.  To  fulfill  does  not  signify  to  continue,  but  to 
bring   to  perfection,  to  realize  fully.     Jesus  Christ, 


THE   PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  195 

when  he  promises  to  fulfill  the  period  of  preparation, 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  he  renders  it 
ultimate,  and  that  after  giving  it  a  new  consecration 
he  bequeathes  to  us  the  old  law.  On  the  contrary,  by 
these  words  he  declares  that  he  brings  that  law  to  a 
close,  and  that  he  is  the  end  of  it.  For  him  to  fulfill 
the  ancient  covenant,  is  to  develop  it,  to  complete  it. 
But  he  can  not  develop  it  except  by  rendering  it  spir- 
itual ;  and  the  ancient  covenant,  when  made  spiritual, 
becomes  the  new  covenant.  We  ought  to  expect  that 
many  institutions  inherent  in  the  former  economy 
should  disappear,  that  many  ordinances  should  be 
abrogated.  This  is  a  necessary  part  of  the  fulfillment. 
That  economy  will  not  be  truly  fulfilled,  that  is  to  say, 
brought  to  its  perfection,  until  the  envelope,  more  or 
less  gross  and  material,  which  contained  the  truth 
shall  be  broken.  There  is,  then,  of  necessity  some- 
thing to  be  abolished  in  the  old  covenant  in  order  to 
its  fulfillment.  When  Jesus  Christ  said,  "  I  came 
not  to  destroy,"  these  words  can  not  be  taken  in  an 
absolute  sense,  for  it  is  a  fact  that  the  new  covenant 
has  seriously  modified  the  old.  Our  Lord  wished  to 
indicate  the  close  bond  of  connection  subsisting  be- 
tween his  work  and  former  revelations.  Very  far 
from  doing  away  with  these,  he  rested  his  work  upon 
them  because  ultimately  they  came  from  him.  Like 
all  that  is  essentially  fruitful  and  great,  his  mission 
was  positive  ;  he  destroyed  only  that  which  impeded 
the  complete  realization  of  God's  will. 

And  in  this  is  found,  my  brethren,  the  secret  of 
Christ's  reformative  power.  If  he  had  been  satisfied 
with  destruction,  with  denial,  his  work  would  have 


196  THE   REDEEMER. 

possessed  no  originality,  no  vast  and  profound  influ- 
ence. The  human  soul  abhors  a  vacuum  in  belief, 
and  it  prefers  a  false  belief  to  a  cold  unbelief.  Before 
Jesus  Christ,  all  the  religious  past  of  humanity  had 
been  denied.  But  a  negation  which  is  merely  a  nega- 
tion, has  no  power  even  to  destroy.  Men  deny  with 
their  lips,  but  the  superstition  is  cherished  at  the 
bottom  of  their  hearts,  and  they  resort  to  it  in  hours 
of  suffering  or  of  dread.  The  ancient  philosophers 
denied  heathenism  during  their  lives,  but  paid  hom- 
age to  it  when  they  came  to  die,  by  observing  the 
rites  which  were  commonly  employed.  If  Jesus 
Christ  had  only  said,  I  come  to  destroy,  it  would  have 
been  with  him  as  with  his  predecessors.  But  he 
adds,  I  come  to  fulfill  ;  I  bring  with  me  an  absolute 
certainty  ;  I  bring  a  positive  truth,  and  I  connect  it 
with  all  that  is  true  and  divine  which  has  existed  be- 
fore me.  We  perceive  by  these  words  that  we  are  in 
the  presence  not  of  a  disputer,  but  of  a  revealer  ;  and 
we  do  not  fear  to  give  up  an  imperfect  truth  for  a 
truth  more  elevated. 

It  was,  therefore,  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  to  fulfill 
completely  the  preparatory  period.  It  is  necessary 
for  us  to  ascertain  in  what  sense  he  understood  this 
fufillment,  and  what  modification  it  brought  to  ancient 
institutions.  This  subject  is  of  capital  importance,  for 
the  confounding  of  the  two  dispensations  has  proved 
one  of  the  most  effectual  causes  of  error  in  the  church. 
Her  history  is  signalized  by  constant  returns  towards 
the  past,  which  was  done  away  at  the  same  time  that 
it  was  fulfilled.  St.  Augustine  has  an  admirable  re- 
mark that  the  New  Testament  is  hidden  in  the  Old, 


THE   PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  197 

* 

and  the  Old  shines  out  in  the  New.  Instead  of  enter- 
ing into  the  spirit  of  this  great  saying,  and  leading 
the  Old  Testament  by  the  light  of  the  New,  the  reverse 
has  been  done.  Men  have  taken  again  the  vail  that 
darkened  the  face  of  Moses,  to  throw  it  over  the  gos- 
pel, and  they  have  deprived  God's  Book  of  a  part  of 
its  power.  Tliis  is  that  which  the  Galatians  and  other 
churches  were  already  doing  in  the  first  ages  ;  in  our 
days,  also,  too  often  has  the  same  deplorable  confusion 
re-appeared.  We  are  obliged  to  compare  all  errone- 
ous views  regarding  Christianity  with  the  plan  of  the 
Master,  in  order  to  apprehend  his  thoughts  and  to 
realize  it  in  its  results. 

The  preparatory  period,  as  you  know,  my  brethren, 
is  not  confined,  in  our  view  of  it,  within  the  limits  of 
Judaism.  It  also  comprehends  that  less  direct  work, 
the  traces  of  which  we  discern  in  the  bosom  of  pagan- 
ism. Among  pagan  nations,  as  among  the  Jews,  we 
have  perceived  the  progressive  steps  of  the  desire  for 
salvation.  This  desire  Jesus  Christ  sought  to  fulfill  ; 
but  since  a  perfect,  a  divine  expression  was  given  to 
this  sentiment  in  the  in,stitutions  of  the  chosen  people, 
we  will  not  go  beyond  the  bounds  of  Judaism.  In 
exhibiting  the  manner  in  which  the  desire  for  salva- 
tion was  satisfied  as  regards  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham, we  shall  be  taking  the  very  method  to  show  you 
how  it  was  satisfied  as  regards  all  men,  since  the  holy 
nation  was  the  representative  of  humanity  before  God. 

If  we  examine  the  form  which  the  desire  for  salva- 
tion had  taken  among  the  Jews,  we  shall  perceive  that 
it  became  confounded  in  their  minds  with  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  the   earth. 

17* 


198  THE  REDEEMER. 

• 

Their  institutions  were  prophetic.  But  the  holy  na- 
tion constituted  a  theocracy,  a  visible  government  of 
the  Lord.  Consequently  their  hopes  were  directed  to 
a  restoration  of  the  divine  kingdom.  They  aspired  not 
merely  after  individual  salvation  ;  they  aspired,  also, 
after  a  great  development  of  the  theocracy.  Thus 
the  prophet  who  immediately  preceded  Jesus  Christ 
summed  up  all  the  hopes  of  his  people  in  these  words  : 
"  The  I^ingdom  of  God  is  at  hand."  And  this  because 
in  truth  God  does  not  desire  merely  to  save  individ- 
uals, but,  furthermore,  to  found  a  kingdom  upon  the 
earth  ;  man  is  not  thrown,  an  isolated  being,  upon  its 
surface  ;  he  belongs  to  a  vast  body.  The  restoration 
will  not  be  complete  till  a  humanity  conformed  to  God 
shall  be  constituted  anew,  and  the  rebellious  world 
shall  again  become  part  of  the  l^ingdom  of  God.  Jesus 
Christ,  on  coming  to  fulfill  the  ancient  dispensation, 
connected  his  work  with  this  idea  of  the  kingdom  of 
God.  He  wished  to  separate  it  from  all  imperfection, 
and  to  realize  it  in  an  absolute  manner  ;  his  plan  was  to 
establish  upon  the  earth  the  true  kingdom  of  God,  which 
implied  the  abolition  of  institutions  whicli,  while  use- 
ful with  regard  to  the  gradual  education  of  the  race, 
were  hindrances,  in  consequence  of  their  external  char- 
acter, to  the  definitive  fulfillment  of  his  great  design. 
To  fulfill  the  kingdom  of  God  by  destroying  its  first 
and  transitory  form,  —  in  this  thought  is  comprehended 
the  entire  plan  of  Jesus.  We  shall  have  need  to  mark 
clearly  this  destruction  and  this  fulfillment. 

The  kingdom  of  God  under  the  old  covenant  pre- 
sents itself  to  us  at  the  very  first  as  one  great  prophecy 
of  salvation.     It  is  the  '^  shadow  of  good  things  to 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  199 

come."  Heb.  x.  1.  Everything  in  the  institutions 
of  God's  people  announced  the  Saviour  ;  everything 
assisted  the  desires  of  fallen  man,  who  was  calling  for 
a  Saviour,  to  mount  up  to  God  ;  and  everything  brought 
back  to  man  the  promise  of  the  Father,  who  desires 
to  give  him  a  Saviour.  Nothing  more  truly  character- 
ized the  old  covenant  than  the  expectation  of  the  Re- 
deemer. It  is  in  this  vein  especially  that  Christ  has 
said,  "•  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill. 
Prophets  and  saints,  faithful  servants  of  God,  who 
during  so  many  ages  have  sighed  for  the  deliverance 
of  Israel,  I  have  not  come  to  disappoint  that  desire,  to 
belie  that  faith.  It  is  I  for  whom  you  wait.  Here 
am  I.  I  have  no  other  mission.  I  come  to  accom- 
plish all  that  for  which  you  longed,  all  that  which  you 
have  asked.  You  asked  for  a  Saviour  ;  I  am  the  per- 
fect Saviour,  and  could  you  all  re-appear  for  a  day  you 
would  recognize  in  me  the  end  and  the  fulfillment  of 
your  aspirations.  Abraham  would  see  in  me  the  true 
child  of  the  promise  ;  Moses,  the  great  Prophet  that 
was  to  come  ;  David,  the  glorious  Son  to  whom  an 
everlasting  dominion  was  promised  ;  Isaiah,  the  mighty 
Deliverer,  and  the  man  of  sorrows  :  all  would  adore 
me,  and  would  say.  Wait  no  longer  for  the  Messiah  ; 
we  possess  him.  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to 
fulfill." 

Thus  the  essential  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  is  to  fulfill 
the  desire  for  salvation,  to  reconcile  man  with  God,  to 
offer  the  sacrifice  of  redemption,  and  to  accomplish 
the  promises.  All  his  other  designs  are  connected 
closely  with  this  first  design.  Whoever  assigns  him 
another  object  has  not  understood  our  text.     If  Jesus 


200  THE  REDEEMER. 

Christ  came  for  anything  else  but  to  save  men,  he  did 
not  come  to  fulfill  the  old  covenant  ;  there  is  no  rela- 
tion between  the  new  and  the  old  economy  ;  the  har- 
mony of  divine  revelations  is  broken.  But  it  is  not 
thus  at  all  ;  the  old  economy  stands  in  the  same  rela- 
tion to  the  new  as  a  prayer  to  the  hearing  of  that  same 
prayer,  or  rather  as  the  shadow  projected  by  a  body 
to  that  body.  Jesus  Christ,  in  speaking  of  the  sacri- 
fice which  summed  up  and  finished  his  redemptive 
work,  exclaimed,  "  For  this  cause  came  I  unto  this 
hour."  We  have  here  the  most  beautiful  commen- 
tary on  our  text.  To  come  for  the  hour  of  the  cross 
was  to  come  to  fulfill  the  law  and  the  prophets,  for  the 
law  and  the  prophets  had  put  the  desire  for  redemp- 
tion in  the  heart  of  man.  To  establish  positively  and 
completely  the  kingdom  of  God  by  reconciling  man 
with  him,  —  such  was  then  the  essential  plan  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

This  fulfillment  of  the  old  covenant  implied  with 
respect  to  it  very  important  modifications  which  en- 
tered into  the  Saviour's  purpose.  The  principal  insti- 
tutions of  Judaism,  as  we  have  already  shown,  were 
in  the  closest  connection  with  its  fundamental  thought. 
Being  sensible  manifestations  of  the  desire  for  salva- 
tion, they  could  not  survive  that  desire.  The  desire 
once  satisfied,  their  prolongation  would  have  been  ab- 
surd. To  wish  to  transfer  the  shadows  of  the  old  cov- 
enant into  the  new  is  to  deny  that  the  Sun  of  right- 
eousness and  truth  has  risen.  To  perpetuate  Judaism 
is  to  deny  its  fulfillment  ;  it  is  saying  to  Jesus  Christ, 
"  Thou  didst  indeed  form  the  plan  of  fulfilling  the  law 
and  the  prophets,  but  tliou  wast  mistaken  therein.'' 


THE   PLAX   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  201 

Every  Jewish  institution  preserved  in  Christianity  is 
a  contradiction  given  to  the  Saviour.  It  is  a  never- 
ceasing  protestation  against  his  redemptive  work,  and, 
to  use  the  energetic  hinguage  of  St.  Paul,  it  frustrates 
the  gospel  of  grace.  We  can  not  be  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians at  the  same  time  ;  we  can  not  thank  God  that 
we  have  a  Saviour,  and  act,  at  the  same  time,  as  if  he 
had  not  yet  come. 

Recall  to  mind,  my  brethren,  the  principal  institu- 
tions of  Judaism,  and  you  will  understand  perfectly 
the  necessity  which  existed  of  transforming  them. 
The  first  characteristic,  the  most  prominent  in  the  old 
dispensation,  was  its  comparative  want  of  spirituality. 
In  that  system,  religion  is  more  or  less  external  to 
man.  And  so  there  is  a  multiplication  of  forms  and 
ceremonies.  A  religion  which  easily  penetrates  our 
hearts,  which  is  admitted  there  and  dwells  there,  has 
no  need  to  be  rendered  visible  to  the  eye  by  means  of 
so  many  symbols.  It  is  so  much  the  less  outward  as  it 
is  the  more  inward.  But  the  religion  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament was  essentially  a  religion  of  an  outward  kind. 
You  know  the  endless  multiplicity  of  its  rites  and  re- 
quirements, and  the  pomps  of  its  worship.  By  its 
numberless  ceremonies  it  assumed  a  sensible  charac- 
ter. It  inclosed  itself  within  the  limits  of  a  single 
country  ;  it  had  its  visible  center  within  the  walls  of  a 
sanctuary  ;  it  became  incarnate  in  the  priest  ;  it  was 
concentrated  in  the  sabbath  day.  I  need  not  longer 
insist  upon  the  external  nature  of  Judaism.  It  flowed 
naturally  from  the  condition  of  men  under  the  old 
dispensation.  How  could  religion  have  been  other- 
wise than  external  to  man  as  long  as  a  barrier  existed 


202  THE   REDEEMER. 

between  him  and  God  ?  He  could  not  freely  com- 
mune with  God  ;  the  sentence  of  condemnation  was 
between  heaven  and  man.  He  was  still  afraid  of 
God,  for  until  the  day  of  redemption  he  felt  that  he 
was  lying  under  the  stroke  of  God's  judgments.  Ne- 
cessarily, man  remained  at  a  distance  from  a  God 
who  was  not  appeased.  Hence  the  external  character 
of  that  imperfect  religion,  which  continued  promising 
salvation ,  but  did  not  actually  give  it. 

This  character  of  externality  must  disappear  from 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  if  he  is  truly  a  perfect 
Saviour.  The  first  result  of  his  work  is  to  restore 
God  to  us  ;  reconciliation  is  a  re-union,  a  drawing 
nigh.  Henceforth  communion  is  possible  between  us 
and  him.  He  is  no  longer  a  God  afar  off,  but  a  God 
who  is  near.  He  desires  even  to  dwell  in  us  ;  and,  in- 
stead of  being  external,  religion  becomes  inward,  that 
is  to  say,  spiritual.  If  God  is  in  us,  we  shall  not  be 
obliged  to  seek  him  in  consecrated  places  and  on  holy 
days.  He  is  everywhere  with  us,  and  we  are  in  him. 
Thus  Jesus  Christ,  in  bringing  pardon  to  the  world, 
has  brought  to  it  spirituality  at  the  same  time.  Spir- 
ituality everywhere  takes  the  place  of  the  external 
character  of  the  old  dispensation.  It  is  fulfilled  only 
by  being  spiritualized.  Spirituality  is  inseparable 
from  forgiveness.  But  the  word  spirituality  is  too 
vague,  too  general,  to  express  the  most  glorious  result 
of  redemption.  Let  us  speak  more  correctly,  let  us 
say  that  the  first  fruit  of  Christ's  sacrifice  was  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  You  remember  how  often  he 
renewed  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  in  his  last  discourses, 
when,  looking  over  his  entire  work  at  a  single  glance, 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  203 

he  indicates  its  most  glorious  results  as  a  reaper  counts 
up  the  sheaves  of  his  field.  Tliis  precious  gift  occu- 
pies the  first  place  in  his  plan,  because  nothing  could 
better  persuade  us  that  the  sacrifice  of  redemption  had 
been  accepted  by  God.  Christianity  is  the  religion  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  religion  of  for- 
giveness. Before  forgiveness  was  obtained,  the  Holy 
Spirit  wrought  upon  the  heart  of  man,  but  not  in  a 
continuous  manner,  on  account  of  the  separation  then 
existing  between  humanity  and  God.  Since  redemp- 
tion, that  separation  no  longer  exists  ;  God  can  hence- 
forth dwell  in  us.  The  Holy  Spirit  imparts  to  us  in  a 
profound  manner  all  the  gifts  of  heaven  ;  it  makes  of 
religion  a  life,  an  inward  and  real  life  ;  it  renders  us 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature.  Christian  spirituality, 
then,  has  nothing  in  it  that  is  inapprehensible  or 
cloudy  ;  it  is  exactly  defined  by  saying  that  it  is  the 
presence  of  God  in  our  souls  through  his  Spirit.  It 
is  to  our  eyes  the  divine  pledge  of  pardon,  and  the 
strongest  proof  that  there  is  no  longer  a  separation 
between  us  and  our  heavenly  Father.  The  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  very  fulfillment  of  the  old  cove- 
nant, and  it  draws  after  it  the  abolition  of  its  inherent 
imperfections.  Where  spirituality  is  wanting,  con- 
sider that  men  have  fallen  back  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment upon  the  Old,  from  the  period  of  fulfillment  to 
the  period  of  preparation  ;  consider  that  faith  in  for- 
giveness is  impaired,  that  the  Saviour's  work  is  be- 
littled, and  that  his  plan  is  marred.  Let  us  pass  in 
review  some  of  these  perversions  of  tlie  gospel.  Ju- 
daism was  a  religion  of  purely  external  authority,  a 
"  ministry  of  the  letter,"  according  to  tlie  expression  of 


204  THE   lîEDEEMER. 

tlie  apostle  Paul.  The  revelation  was  rather  graven 
upon  stone  than  upon  the  heart  of  man.  It  bound 
itself  upon  him  from  without.  It  was  a  sacred  yoke, 
beneath  which  he  must  stoop.  No  deviation  was  tol- 
erated from  the  most  inflexible  unity,  because  there 
was  no  progressive  assimilation  of  revelation,  and  no 
free  investigation.  It  was  the  same  with  truth  as 
with  God  ;  it  also  was  external  to  man.  Such  is  the 
meaning  of  these  words,  "  ministry  of  the  letter." 
The  new  dispensation,  on  the  contrary,  is,  according  to 
the  same  apostle  (2  Cor.  iii.  7),  a  "ministration  of  the 
Spirit."  Not  that  there  is  any  opposition  between  the 
letter  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  Nothing 
of  the  kind  is  here  contemplated.  Jesus  Christ  has 
said,  "I  came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill."  He  did 
not  abolish  authority  in  religion  ;  his  mission  was  not 
negative  in  this  respect  more  than  in  any  other.  Far 
from  abolishing  authority,  he  fulfilled  it  ;  that  is  to 
say.,  he  brought  it  to  perfection  by  rendering  it  more 
spiritual,  by  throwing  open  to  it,  in  the  exercise  of  gentle 
persuasion,  the  entire  domain  of  the  soul.  Thus,  in  the 
new  dispensation  as  in  the  old,  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone 
impart  to  us  the  truth  ;  they  possess  in  this  respect  a 
sovereign  authority.  But  this  truth,  like  God  of  whom 
it  is  the  expression,  is  to  pass  over  into  us.  It  must  be 
written  in  our  soul  in  living  letters,  and  these  letters 
are  traced  by  the  finger  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  he 
who  leads  "into  the  truth,"  according  to  the  words  of 
our  Lord,  by  which  we  understand  Scriptural  truth. 
His  anointing,  let  us  say  with  St.  John,  "teacheth 
us  all  things."  We  no  longer  need  that  any  one 
should  instruct  us,  except  God.    Free  access  is  granted 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  205 

US  unto  him.  Away  with  those  who  would  place 
themselves  between  ns  and  him  !  We  have  the  privi- 
lege of  freely  communicating  with  him.  This  is  our 
right  :  it  is  the  right  conquered  for  us  by  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  it  is  the  result  of  pardon,  it  is  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  old  dispensation.  What  shall  we  say,  then, 
of  those  who  dispute  this  right,  who  put  a  tradition 
between  us  and  God,  and  wish  to  bind  it  upon  us  as 
sovereign  ?  What  shall  we  say,  if  not  that  they  over- 
throw the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  they  deny  the 
efficacy  of  his  death,  and  bring  us  back  to  the  very 
condition  of  mankind  before  he  appeared?  Ministers 
of  the  dead  letter,  ministers  of  tyrannical  authority  in 
religion,  whoever  you  are,  and  whatever  your  dis- 
guises, whether  Catholic  or  Protestant,  all  you  who 
make  of  religion  a  lifeless  tradition,  an  iron  chain 
handed  down  from  one  generation  to  another,  you 
deny  both  redemption  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  by  your  claims  you  say  to  Jesus  Christ,  "  Thou 
hast  not  fulfilled  the  old  dispensation,  for  we  continue 
it  as  if  thou  liadst  not  come." 

The  external  character  of  Judaism  is  discoverable, 
moreover,  in  the  law  given  by  Moses  to  God's  people. 
The  apostle  Paul  describes  it  as  the  "  law  of  command- 
ments contained  in  ordinances;"  in  fact,  it  entered 
into  the  greatest  details  in  the  rules  of  life  which  it  pre- 
scribed, it  directed  man  by  its  minute  regulations  as 
by  leading-strings,  and  gave  far  more-  attention  to  the 
outside  than  to  the  inside  of  the  cup.  A  severe  and  ter- 
rible law,  its  sanctions  were  multiplied  punishments. 
For  that  very  reason  it  is  a  powerless  law,  for  terror 
by  itself  alone  has  never  changed  one  soul.     It  entered 

18 


206  THE  REDEEMER. 

into  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  to  give  us  a  greatly  supe- 
rior law.  In  this  sense,  also,  he  could  say,  "  I  am  not 
come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill."  Let  us  take  heed  not 
to  believe  that  grace  has  abrogated  the  law  as  law,  and 
that  it  has  set  us  free  from  the  rule  of  holiness.  That 
would  be  saying,  ''  Let  us  sin,  that  grace  may  abound  ;  " 
that  would  be  turning  Christianity  into  a  revolt  against 
conscience.  No,  Jesus  Christ,  with  all  his  compassion, 
did  not  come  to  destroy  the  law.  On  the  contrary,  he 
came  to  fulfill  it,  to  complete  it,  to  bring  it  to  perfec- 
tion. Woe  to  the  pretended  Christian  who  fancies 
himself  to  be  set  free  in  this  particular.  In  fulfilling 
the  law,  Jesus  Christ  has  magnified  it  ;  in  spiritualiz- 
ing the  law,  he  has  glorified  it.  No  longer  is  it  the 
law  of  ordinances.  There  is  but  one  commandment  : 
''Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which 
is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  But  forth  from  this  com- 
mandment the  Holy  Spirit  makes  the  entire  Christian 
life  to  flow.  In  profound  harmony  with  Scripture,  the 
Scripture  itself  becomes  a  living  rule,  which  operates 
rather  by  inspiration  than  by  precepts.  "  Being  led  by 
the  Spirit,  we  are  not  under  the  law."  Gal.  v.  18. 
The  new  law  is  connected  more  especially  with  the 
heart,  whence  issue  the  springs  of  life,  than  with  out-, 
ward  acts.  Being  a  law  of  love,  it  acts  upon  the  affec- 
tions to  renew  them,  and  the  Christian  can  say,  "  The 
love  of  Christ  constraineth  me."  According  to  the 
expression  of  St.  James,  it  is  a  perfect  law  and  a  law 
of  liberty,  perfect  in  its  very  liberty  ;  for,  since  it  has 
no  special  requirements,  it  has  no  limits.  The  Chris- 
tian is  led  onward  to  perfection,  and  Jesus  aimed  at 
no  less  in  his  plan  than  the  holiness  of  his  disciples. 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  207 

What,  then,  shall  we  think  of  those  who  carefully  gather 
up  the  fragments  of  the  old  yoke  which  man  was  not 
able  to  bear,  in  order  to  bind  it  upon  him  anew? 
What  shall  we  think  of  those  who  build  again  a  Mo- 
saic code,  who  multiply  cases  of  conscience,  and  en- 
slave souls  by  their  minute  requirements  ?  What  shall 
we  think  of  those  especially,  who,  denying  the  gratu- 
itous nature  of  salvation,  would  bring  us  back  to  the 
slavish  and  sterile  fear,  to  the  proud  content  and  the 
inward  agony  of  self-righteousness  ?  What  can  we 
think  of  them,  except  that  from  grace  they  take  us 
back  to  the  law,  and  from  Christ  to  Moses  ?  What 
can  we  think  of  them,  if  it  be  not  that  they  deny  the 
Redeemer  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Do  not  they,  too,  say 
to  the  Saviour,  "  Thou  sayest  that  thou  hast  fulfilled 
the  old  dispensation,  but  we  continue  it  as  if  thou  hadst 
not  come." 

Jewish  worship  more  plainly  than  the  other  institu- 
tions of  Judaism  bears  the  stamp  of  the  old  economy. 
Its  most  striking  features  are  sacrifice  and  the  priest- 
hood, and  it  is  eminently  in  these  two  particulars  that 
it  was  at  once  abolished  and  fulfilled.  The  priesthood 
announced  the  perfect  Mediator,  and  sacrifice  was  a 
prophetic  type  of  redemption.  The  Saviour  is  the 
sole  priest  of  the  new  covenant,  another  priest  made 
"  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life."  "  Because  he 
continueth  for  ever,  he  hath  an  unchangeable  priest- 
hood." Heb.  vii.  16,  24.  His  sacrifice,  as  a  sacrifice 
perfect  and  accepted  of  God,  is  substituted  for  all 
others.  "  Christ  was  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of 
many."  Heb.  ix.  28.  If  priests  re-appear,  if  sacrifices 
are  again  offered,  the  old  dispensation  still  subsists. 


208  THE   REDEEMER. 

All  those  who  to-day  allege  the  permanence  of  the 
priesthood,  and  who  can  conceive  of  no  worship  without 
sacrifice,  deny  in  toto  the  work  of  redemption.  They 
withhold  from  Christ  the  price  of  his  sufferings,  which 
is  the  salvation  of  souls.  Without  knowing  it,  they 
charge  him  with  error  or  falsehood.  Yes,  wherever 
a  priest  officiates,  wherever  an  altar  is  raised,  there  is 
a  positive  denial  of  salvation,  and  a  testimony  borne 
against  the  work  of  the  Saviour.  If  we  are  told  that 
such  priests  and  altars  are  found  in  temples  erected 
to  his  glory,  we  reply  that  the  priesthood  and  the  sac- 
rifice are  in  fact  against  his  glory,  since  they  deny  the 
efficacy  of  his  immolation.  In  vain  show  us  the  cross 
upon  those  churches.  The  cross  becomes  a  piece  of 
dead  wood  when  the  redemptive  sacrifice  is  not  ac- 
knowledged to  be  sufficient.  The  most  beautiful  an- 
thems mingling  with  the  clouds  of  incense  do  not  pre- 
vent Jesus  Christ  from  hearing  the  denial  given  him 
by  every  priest  before  every  altar.  "  Thou  hast  not 
fulfilled  the  old  dispensation,"  they  tell  him  by  these 
vain  ceremonies;  "  for  we  continue  it  as  if  thou  hadst 
not  come,  in  institutions  which  most  plainly  declare 
the  absence  of  a  perfect  Saviour." 

We  need  not  insist  upon  the  external  character  of 
the  Jewish  worship,  or  its  ceremonial  pomp.  It  could 
only  be  celebrated  in  a  sanctuary  and  upon  certain 
days.  The  Sabbath  and  the  temple  were  closely  con- 
nected with  the  Mosaic  system.  Jesus  Christ  came 
not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill  ;  he  therefore  abolished 
neither  religious  festivals  nor  solemn  worship.  Only 
the  whole  life  became  one  Christian  festival.  "  Do 
everything  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  singing  hymns 


THE    PLAN   OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  209 

and  spiritual  songs."  The  Cliristian  became  himself 
a  sanctuary  consecrated  to  God.  "  Ye  are  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  Ghost."  I  will  go  even  farther,  and 
say  that  religious  festivals  and  the  temple,  properly  so 
called,  are  not  rejected  by  Christianity,  but  they  no 
longer  possess  that  exclusive  consecration  which  dis- 
tinguished the  Sabbath  and  the  sanctuary  at  Jerusa- 
lem. Sunday  is  not  a  continuation  of  the  Sabbath  ;  it 
has  been  put  in  its  place  by  the  necessities  of  Chris- 
tian worship,  althougli  no  holier  in  itself  than  any  other 
day  of  the  week.*  In  Judaism,  one  day  of  the  week  is 
sanctified  ;  in  Christianity,  the  entire  week  pertains  to 
God.  In  like  manner,  our  temples  are  not  holier  than 
our  dwellings.  The  Spirit  is  not  imprisoned  within 
walls.  "  The  hour  cometh,"  said  Jesus  to  the  Sama- 
ritan woman,  "  when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  mountain, 
nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the  Father."  "  God  is 
a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him 
in  spirit  and  in  truth."  John  iv.  21,  24.  Conse- 
quently the  fullness  of  the  redemption  is  denied  when- 
ever consecrated  days  and  places  are  adopted  in  an 
exclusive  manner  ;  and  we  have  a  right  to  say  with  St. 
Paul,  "  Ye  observe  days  and  months  and  times  and 
years."  "  How  turn  ye  again  to  the  weak  and  beg- 
garly elements  ?  "  Gal.  iv.  9, 10.  What  opinion,  then, 
must  we  form  of  those  who  rest  almost  the  entire  work 
of  sanctification  upon   these   "  beggarly  elements  ;  " 

*  The  serious  error  maintained  by  the  author  on  this  subject  is  nowhere 
more  conclusively  refuted  in  brief  space  (but  with  ample  learning  and 
logic)  than  by  Prof.  Schaff  in  his  admirable  little  treatise,  The  Anglo- 
American  View  of  the  Sabbath.  It  is  a  manly  and  masterly  vindication 
of  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and  in  part  against  just  such  erroi-s  as  these,  so 
generally  entertained  by  Continental  Christians.  —  Te. 
18* 


210  THE  REDEEMER. 

who  multiply  distinctions  between  days  and  between, 
kinds  of  food  ;  who  admit  into  the  year  a  season  of 
Christianity  after  a  season  of  worldliness,  and  who  re- 
gard their  churches  as  sanctuaries  like  that  at  Jerusa- 
lem ?  What  can  we  think  of  them,  except  that  they 
will  not  admit,  notwithstanding  the  Master's  declara- 
tions, that  the  ancient  dispensation  is  done  away  ?  * 

There  are  two  distinctive  peculiarities  of  Judaism, 
which,  although  seemingly  opposed,  are  yet  very  close- 
ly connected  together  ;  I  refer  to  its  national  exclu- 
siveness,  and  to  its  religious  nationalism.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  chosen  people  form  a  nation  apart,  distinct 
from  the  other  nations  ;  the  kingdom  of  God  is  com- 
prehended within  the  boundaries  of  Judgea.  On  the 
other  hand,  whoever  is  born  of  a  Jewish  father  belongs 
to  the  chosen  people,  and  its  privileges  are  transmitted 
with  the  blood.  Every  circumcised  child  becomes  a 
child  of  Abraham.  Doubtless  the  prophets  insisted  on 
many  occasions  upon  the  circumcision  of  the  heart  ; 
but  prophecy  was  anticipative  of  the  new  dispensation. 
This  spiritual  and  prophetic  aspect  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment did  not  prevent  Judaism  from  forming  a  compact 
national  body,  distinct  from  the  rest  of  mankind. 

There  exists,  my  brethren,  an  intimate  connection 
between  exclusiveness  and  religious  nationalism. 
When  a  religion  has  become  identified  with  a  particu- 
lar nation,  it  exists  only  among  the  people  of  that  na- 
tion. Like  the  nation,  it  has  a  special  native  land  ;  it 
is  bound  to  a  particular  soil  ;    it  is  inclosed  within  the 

*  These  considerations  apply,  also,  to  that  which  is  styled,  by  common 
consent,  Sabbatism,  which  is  something  wholly  fox^eign  to  Christian  an- 
tiquity and  to  the  Reformation  ;  it  Judaizes  and  perverts  the  beautiful  and 
holy  festival  of  Sunday. 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  211 

bounds  of  the  people  to  which  it  is  enfeoffed.  It  par- 
ticipates in  the  nation's  isolation,  and  is  tied  to  time 
and  space  like  the  nation  itself.  One  can  say  in  what 
degree  of  latitude  and  longitude  this  religion  is  to  be 
found,  and  repeat  the  famous  saying  of  Pascal  :  "  On 
this  side  of  that  mountain,  truth  ;  on  that  side,  error." 
Religious  nationalism  has  the  effect,  therefore,  of  nar- 
rowing the  scope  of  religion.  At  first  view,  it  seems 
to  secure  for  itself  an  entire  nation.  A  mistake.  This 
religion  will  not  possess  the  nation  except  in  an  ex- 
ternal and  superficial  manner.  It  has  the  same  bounds 
with  the  territory  of  the  people  that  have  received  it 
en  masse^  and  it  is  unable  to  cross  those  bounds. 

The  plan  of  God  under  the  old  dispensation,  as  we 
have  already  shown,  embraced  religious  nationalism 
to  the  extent  of  entire  exclusiveness.  The  plan  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  to  remove  from  religion  this  very 
character  of  exclusiveness  and  nationality,  and  to 
render  it  at  once  human  and  individual.  Jesus 
Christ  was  not  satisfied  with  being  a  Jew  only; 
he  called  himself  preferably  the  Son  of  man.  He 
was  sent  first  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Is- 
rael ;  but  he  declared  that  he  had  other  sheep,  also, 
and  that  they  all  should  form  but  one  fold.  The 
apostle  Paul  commented  upon  this  promise  in  the  sub- 
lime declaration  :  "  Where  there  is  neither  Greek  nor 
Jew,  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision,  Barbarian, 
Scythian,  bond  nor  free  ;  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in  all." 
In  other  words,  it  entered  into  the  plan  of  Jesus  to 
found  a  Christian  humanity,  transcending  all  barriers 
and  limits  of  nationality.  Wonderful  thing  !  He 
made  known  to  us  not  only  Divinity,  but  also  human- 


212  THE  REDEEMER. 

ity.  Humanity  felt  its  unity  first  in  him.  Till  this 
day  it  had  been  everywhere  divided  and  rent  into  frag- 
ments. There  were  Greeks  and  Barbarians,  the  cir- 
cumcised and  the  uncircumcised,  free  men  and  slaves. 
Humanity  as  one  did  not  exist  until  after  his  coming. 
To  him,  and  to  him  alone,  do  we  owe  those  great  ideas 
of  unity  and  fraternity,  the  abuse  of  which  should  not 
lead  us  to  lose  sight  of  their  greatness. 

But  Jesus  Christ  did  not  bring  with  him  into  the 
world  a  vague  idea  of  humanity.  His  plan  went  infi- 
nitely farther  than  this.  He  desired  to  establish  a 
great  human  society.  And  this  great  human  society  is 
the  church,  —  the  members  of  which  are  united  to  him 
as  the  branches  are  to  the  vine,  and  which  forms  a  liv- 
ing unity  ;  the  church,  which  is  his  body,  nourished 
and  invigorated  by  his  strength  and  his  life.  The  chiirch 
is  simply  the  true  humanity,  humanity  after  the  image 
of  God,  for  it  gathers  its  recruits  among  all  tribes  and 
nations,  and  our  Saviour  God  is  adored  in  all  the  lan- 
guages of  the  earth.  No  more  of  her  than  of  him  can 
it  be  said.  She  is  here,  or  is  there.  The  church  is  in 
every  place  where  Christ  is  loved.  Where  Christ  is, 
there  is  the  church,  there  is  the  Christian  manhood, 
one  in  God  through  him.  He  alone  was  able  to 
throw  down  the  separating  wall,  and  of  two  peoples  to 
make  but  one,  because  he  alone  reconciled  man  with 
God,  and  because  the  fullness  of  his  redemption,  like  a 
mighty  river,  spreads  itself  over  the  whole  earth. 

Thus  in  his  plan  all  religious  exclusiveness  disap- 
pears. Religious  nationalism  is  equally  annulled,  for 
exclusiveness  follows  this,  as  effect  follows  cause.  The 
church  is  universal  because  it  is  tied  to  no  nationality  ; 


THE   PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  213 

it  rests  upon  individual  profession  of  faith,  and  not 
upon  a  vague  and  collective  profession,  which  binds  no 
one  in  particular  ;  it  reposes  upon  living  stones,  and 
not  upon  the  mingled  dust  of  unconverted  multitudes. 
Men  are-  not  members  of  the  Christian  church  as  men 
were  Jews,  by  birth  and  circumcision,  ])y  virtue  of  an 
accidental  fact  and  a  form.  In  order  to  be  of  the 
church  a  man  must  be  born  anew.  "  Unless  a  man  be 
born  again  he  can  not  see  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  '^  lan- 
guage of  the  Master,  admirably  interpreted  in  the 
famous  saying  of  Tertullian,  "  Men  are  not  born  Chris- 
tians, they  are  made  such."  Birth  admitted  into  Ju- 
daism ;  only  the  new  birth  admits  into  the  church.  Be- 
tween these  methods  of  admission  there  exists  all  the 
dififercnce  between  an  involuntary  fact  and  a  moral 
fact,  between  flesh  and  blood  and  the  glorious  renewal  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  The  church,  according  to  the 
plan  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  not  a  people  like  any  other,  but 
a  willing  people,  gathered  in,  man  by  man,  through  a 
personal  and  living  faith.  And  as  good-will  is  neither 
of  Judsea,  nor  of  Greece,  nor  of  any  particular  country 
whatever  ;  as  it  descends  from  him  from  whom  all  grace 
proceeds,  and  who  is  near  every  one  of  us  ;  as  the  Spirit 
bloweth  where  he  listeth,  and  men  have  never  succeeded 
in  confininghim  within  any  form  whatsoever,  — this  will- 
ing people  is  the  largest,  the  most  human,  association 
of  which  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  So  that  those  who 
everywhere  appeal  to  individual  faith  in  order  to  real- 
ize the  Master's  plan,  far  from  giving  us  a  narrow 
Christianity,  give  us  primitive  Christianity  in  all  its  ex- 
tent, the  Christianity  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  fulfilled 
the  old  dispensation  by  destroying  its  exclusive  and 


214  THE   REDEEMER. 

national  character.  All  you  who  bring  back  that  ex- 
clusiveness  and  that  nationalism  are  restoring  an  econ- 
omy that  has  been  done  away  ;  you  who  discover  a 
selfish  pleasure  that  is  almost  incomprehensible  in  con- 
fining the  affections  of  God,  and  who  regard  the  people 
of  the  new  covenant  as  isolated  and  morose,  well-nigh 
deserving  the  calumnious  charge  hurled  at  primitive 
Christians  of  being  haters  of  the  human  race,  be  ye 
not  deceived  ;  you  do  not  belong  among  Christians  ; 
you  are  eighteen  centuries  behind,  with  your  miserable 
narrowness.  You  are  Pharisees  of  Jerusalem.  You 
who  conceive  of  the  church  as  a  vast  framework,  open 
on  all  sides,  in  which  the  world  has  its  place  and  its 
rights  ;  you  who  wish  to  connect  the  church  with  differ- 
ent nationalities,  and  imagine  that  there  is  an  English 
church,  a  German  church,  and  a  French  church, —  do  not 
speak  to  us  of  your  liberality.  You  restore  abolished 
distinction  ;  you  efface  the  character  of  the  church  as 
universal,  by  a  character  which  is  particular,  local,  and 
accidental  ;  and, above  all,  you  weaken  it  by  a  deplorable 
confusion  !  And  you,  finally,  who  adopt  both  the  ex- 
clusiveness  and  nationalism  of  the  church,  receiving 
into  its  bosom  entire  nations  and  their  successive  gen- 
erations by  an  outward  ceremony,  and  believing  that  by 
applying  water  to  the  forehead  of  your  neophytes  you 
have  imparted  to  them  the  grace  of  God  ;  you  who  to 
this  frightful  multitudinism,  to  employ  a  modern  word, 
add  the  proscription  for  time  and  for  eternity  of  all  who 
are  not  of  your  church, —  in  vain  do  you  parade  the  word 
universality  on  the  forefront  of  your  temples.  True 
catholicity  is  neither  exclusive  nor  external.  If  the 
faith  of  our  fathers  has  been  styled  the  pretended  re- 


THE    PLAN   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  215 

formed  religion,  we  shall  be  allowed  to  style  the  oppos- 
ing faith  the  pretended  universal  religion.  You  who 
profess  it,  you  also  are  eighteen  centuries  behind,  and 
you  are  unanimous  only  in  saying  to  Christ,  "  Thou 
hast  not  fulfilled  the  old  dispensation."  For  all  your 
efforts  aim  at  its  continuation  ! 

Finally,  my  brethren,  the  kingdom  of  God  under 
the  first  economy  was  a  theocracy  ;  that  is  to  say,  a 
divine  government  of  an  external  and  material  kind. 
There  were  not  two  societies,  one  temporal  and  the 
other  spiritual.  There  was  but  one  society,  which 
was  both  temporal  and  spiritual.  Jerusalem  was  at 
the  same  time  the  Jewish  city  and  the  holy  city.  Re- 
ligion and  patriotism  were  blended  together.  Every 
offense  against  the  law  of  the  state  was  a  religious 
offense,  every  religious  transgression  was  a  crime 
punishable  by  the  magistrates.  The  Mosaic  code 
regulated  and  controlled  civil  life,  as  well  as  worship 
and  doctrine.  This  absolute  confounding  of  temporal 
and  spiritual  society  shows  us  that  the  Jewish  the- 
ocracy was  established  and  sustained  by  material 
force.  To  it  were  devoted  the  sword  of  the  warrior 
and  the  ax  of  the  executioner.  It  is  this  state  of 
things  which  Jesus  Christ  came  to  destroy  by  fulfill- 
ing the  old  dispensation.  Man  in  his  infancy  had 
need  of  this  immediate  tutelage  of  heaven.  More- 
over, the  dispensation  of  the  law  was  the  dispensation 
of  constraint  ;  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God  was  not  yet  established.  Redemption  has 
changed  everything  in  this  respect,  as  in  others.  The 
reign  of  the  Spirit  can  not  be  assimilated  to  this  ma- 
terial  government   of  God.      Tiiis   gross   type   of  a 


216  THE   REDEEMER. 

terrestrial  monarchy  became  useless  when  God  was 
brought  nigh  to  man  in  the  incarnation,  and  the 
divine  Spirit  was  freely  breathed  forth  from  on  high. 
Since  redemption  came,  constraint  disappeared  before 
love  and  its  free  persuasion.  The  theocratic  form 
was  destined  to  fall  to  the  earth,  as  falls  the  envelope 
which  hides  the  winged  insect.  The  old  dispensation 
could  not  be  fulfilled  except  by  the  abolition  of  the 
theocracy,  properly  so  called.  And  this  was  most 
especially  acknowledged  by  Jesus  Christ  when  he 
said,  "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world:"  a  great 
saying,  the  meaning  of  which  is  as  plain  as  the  light 
of  day.  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  What 
can  this  import,  if  it  be  not  that  the  spiritual  society 
is  never  to  be  confounded  with  the  temporal  ;  that  in 
place  of  the  confounding  and  intermingling  of  the 
two  in  Judaism,  the  former  and  the  latter  are  to 
remain  entirely  distinct  and  separate  ? 

The  temporal  society  has  its  alternations,  its  revo- 
lutions, its  triumphs.  It  falls,  it  rises  again,  and 
again  it  falls.  The  spiritual  society,  or  the  church,  is 
to  remain  built  upon  the  Kock  of  ages,  which  is  no 
creature  of  a  day,  were  it  even  an  apostle,  but  that 
God  who  made  the  ages.  Doubtless  tlie  Christian  be- 
longs to  the  two  societies  :  he  has  to  fulfill  duties 
toward  both.  "  Render  to  Caesar  the  things  that 
are  Csesar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that  are  God's  ;  " 
such  is  the  commandment  of  his  Master.  Only  let  it 
be  well  understood  that  if  a  conflict  ever  arises  be- 
tween Ceesar  and  God,  the  Christian  will  not  need  to 
deliberate  ;  his  choice  is  already  made.  He  will  re- 
gard man  as  man,  and  God  as  God. 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  217 

That  which  more  than  all  else,  my  brethren,  has 
been  done  away,  is  the  employment  of  external,  ma- 
terial means  in  order  to  bring  on  the  kingdom  of  God. 
However  much  they  had  a  place  in  Judaism,  to  an 
equal  extent  are  they  criminal  in  Christianity.  The 
religion  of  the  Spirit  is  to  be  established  by  the  Spirit. 
It  must  continually  triumph  over  matter.  It  must 
not  be  possible  for  any  one  to  say  on  the  day  of  its 
triumph,  It  is  not  truth  that  has  conquered,  but  ma- 
terial force.  The  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  was  to  over- 
come through  the  Spirit.  For  this  reason  not  only 
has  he  proscribed  the  use  of  force  in  religion,  by  de- 
claring that  he  who  takes  the  sword  shall  perish  by 
the  sword,  and  that  consequently  a  religion  upheld  by 
the  sword  may  also  perish  by  it,  because  it  is  thus 
degraded  to  the  rank  of  earthly  things  ;  not  only  did 
he  in  advance  denounce  all  outward  constraint,  all 
vengeful  feeling,  in  saying  to  his  disciples,  who  asked 
for  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  Samaria,  "  Ye  know 
not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of;"  but  he  has 
also  rejected  human  splendor  and  greatness,  whatever 
form  they  may  assume.  He  was  born  in  poverty, 
he  lived  in  ignominy,  there  was  no  form  or  comeliness 
in  him  ;  he  was  like  "  the  things  which  are  not  ;  "  and 
in  all  ages  he  has  chosen  the  things  which  are  not  to 
confound  the  things  which  are.  Far  from  clothing 
his  disciples  with  external  power  and  splendor,  he 
has  despoiled  them  in  sending  them  forth  as  lambs  in 
the  midst  of  wolves.  "  Provide  neither  gold  nor 
silver,"  "  neither  two  coats  ;"  be  poor  among  the  poor, 
weak  among  the  weak,  and  nevertheless  baptize  all 
nations  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and 

19* 


218  THE   REDEEMER. 

of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus  Jesus  Christ  sought  the 
triumph  of  his  cause,  not  by  earthly  power,  but  by 
weakness;  not  by  riches,  but  by  poverty  ;  not  by  glory, 
but  by  disgrace.  He  styled  himself  a  king  on  but  one 
occasion,  and  that  was  before  the  tribunal  of  Pilate, 
when  he  had  just  been  buifeted  and  evil-entreated,  at 
the  moment  of  his  being  delivered  up  to  the  soldiery 
of  the  Pretorium.  0  Christians,  behold  your  King  ! 
He  has  thorns  for  a  crown,  and  a  cross  for  his  scepter. 
Compare  him  with  the  king  of  Israel  encompassed 
by  his  court  and  his  armies,  and  thus  learn  that  the 
old  dispensation  is  for  ever  abolished.  Perceive  also 
that  every  attempt  to  make  a  theocracy  out  of  the 
church  is  a  shameful  return  to  the  past,  and  that  the 
use  of  material  force  is  equivalent  to  the  renunciation 
of  the  new  covenant.  It  is  a  cowardly  desertion  of 
the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  a  rejection  of  his 
weakness  and  his  poverty.  Ah  !  let  men  spare  him 
the  wrong  done  him  by  a  protection  which  he  has  not 
sought,  and  which  dishonors  his  gospel  !  And  es- 
pecially let  no  one  transform  into  a  Jephtha,  or  a 
Gideon,  him  who  fulfilled  the  old  dispensation  simply 
by  doing  away  with  all  compulsion,  and  by  bringing 
into  the  world  a  truth  clothed  with  such  beauty  and 
consoling  strength  that  it  is  able  to  gain  all  hearts  by 
itself  alone,  without  foreign  aids,  which  would  charge 
it  with  weakness.  All  persecution,  whether  little  or 
great,  is  a  base  denial  of  the  new  covenant. 

There  is,  however,  one  aspect  of  the  theocracy 
which  is  spiritually  fulfilled  by  our  Saviour.  The 
theocracy  exhibits  to  us  God's  reign  as  embracing  all 
the  different  spheres  of  individual  and  social  life.     It 


THE  PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  219 

embraced  them  by  absorbing  them  all  within  itself. 
Henceforth  there  is  to  be  a  clear  separation  between 
the  two  societies  ;  yet  we  are  firmly  persuaded  that 
the  purely  religious  society  is  called  upon  to  penetrate 
the  temporal  society,  to  transform  it,  to  model  it  in 
accordance  with  God's  thoughts.  We  believe  that 
the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  comprehended,  secondarily, 
reforms  iiî  temporal  society  brought  to  pass  by  the 
agency  of  the  gospel.  Did  he  not  himself  compare 
his  kingdom  to  leaven,  which  gradually  penetrates  the 
whole  lump  ?  This  lump  is  unconverted  humanity, 
society  regarded  as  a  whole.  The  gospel  as  active 
leaven  operates  powerfully  upon  this  mass,  which  is 
so  difficult  to  be  transformed.  It  acts,  first  of  all, 
upon  individuals,  but  it  acts  also  upon  society.  It  is 
thus  that  Christianity  changed  the  old  pagan  society, 
that  it  broke  the  fetters  of  the  slave,  emancipated 
woman,  elevated  poverty  ;  it  is  thus  that  the  Reforma- 
tion consecrated  the  rights  of  conscience,  so  often 
misunderstood.  Thus  the  church,  while  not  of  the 
world,  acts  profoundly  upon  the  world  ;  and  the  more 
she  is  separated  from  the  world,  the  more  insidious 
and  powerful  is  the  divine  leaven,  the  more  savor  has 
the  salt.  It  would  be  easy  for  us  to  show  you  that 
those  countries  in  which  the  great  principles  of  jus- 
tice -and  freedom  are  best  observed  are  also  those  in 
which  the  church  has  exerted  its  most  benign  and  its 
most  spiritual  action.  All  the  good  which  exists  in 
modern  society  it  owes  to  Christianity.  All  desirable 
reforms  in  the  social  order,  which  is  still  so  imperfect 
and  so  mournful  to  contemplate,  will  proceed  from 
Christianity,  from  true  Christianity,  individual  and 


220  THE  REDEEMER. 

spiritual,  separated  from  the  world  in  order  more 
effectually  to  redeem  it.  I  defy  you  to  point  out  to 
me  one  idea  of  justice  or  of  right  which  is  not  its 
creature.  We  put  far  from  us  those  narrow  doc- 
trines that  condemn  the  Christian  to  selfish  isolation, 
and  are  not  willing  that  he  he  occupied  with  the  gen- 
eral interests  of  humanity,  not  even  when  it  concerns 
the  maintenance  of  the  rights  of  conscience.  Those 
doctrines  are  apart  from  Christ's  plan  ;  under  pre- 
tense of  spirituality,  they  belittle  it.  They  deprive 
the  gospel  of  its  large  and  fruitful  activity,  and,  if 
they  triumphed,  would  convert  the  church  into  a 
narrow  sect.  The  church  !  What  have  we  said  ? 
We  forget  that  this  word  is  interdicted  to  us  by  these 
petty  sects,  and  that  there  exist  for  them  only  scat- 
tered Christians,  a  few  solitary  men  confined  within  a 
commodious  Theba'is  whence  heroic  mortification  has 
been  carefully  banished. 

The  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  is,  moreover,  connected 
with  the  theocratical  idea  in  relation  to  the  glorious  fu- 
ture which  it  opens  before  our  eyes.  The  kingdom 
of  God  must  ultimately  have  its  triumph  in  every  do- 
main. The  resurrection,  the  new  heavens  and  the 
new  earth  so  plainly  announced  by  our  Lord,  carry  us 
to  the  happy  day  when  harmony  shall  be  re-estab- 
lished,, and  restoration  from  the  Fall  complete  ;  a 
blessed  state,  which  tlie  Bible  describes  in  these 
words  :  "  That  God  may  be  all  in  all."  The  return 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  judge  the  living  and  the  dead  will 
bring  on  this  consummation  and  tliis  fulfillment  of 
all  dispensations.  The  prospect  of  this  return  should 
be  at  once  a  stimulus  and  a  consolation  for  us.     With 


THE   PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  221 

regard  to  all  which  afflicts  and  saddens  our  hearts,  let  us 
say  one  to  another,  He  will  return  to  set  up  his  king- 
dom. With  respect  to  all  humiliations  of  the  present, 
all  manifestations  of  our  weakness,  let  us  say,  He  will 
come  again  with  power.  With  regard  to  all  the  im- 
perfections of  our  work,  let  us  say.  He  will  return  to 
finish  that  which  we  have  so  feebly  begun.  We  shall 
find  in  this  thought  a  precious  encouragement  to  re- 
double our  activity.  While  freely  admitting  this  pro- 
phetic aspect  of  the  plan  of  our  Lord,  let  us  take  heed 
not  to  materialize  it  as  has  been  often  done  in  the 
church,  and  let  us  not,  through  gross  interpretation 
of  prophetic  language,  go  on  to  imagine  a  purely  ter- 
restrial felicity,  a  merely  outward  glory,  by  adding  the 
hope  of  à  resplendent  vengeance  upon  the  enemies  of 
the  church.  That  would  be  a  final  method  of  denying 
the  fulfillment  of  the  old  dispensation  ;  and  against 
this  we  must  very  carefully  guard  in  the  study  of  proph- 
ecy. 

"  I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfill."  These 
words  now  convey  to  us  all  the  riches  of  their  mean- 
ing. The  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  in  its  greatness  is  un- 
folded before  our  eyes.  To  establish  the  kingdom  of 
God  by  restoring  through  redemption  man  to  God 
and  God  to  man  ;  to  establish  in  like  manner  the  reign 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  by  destroying  all  which  pertains  to 
the  letter  that  killeth  ;  to  inaugurate  the  worship  in 
spirit  and  in  truth,  the  perfect  law  of  liberty;  to  found 
upon  the  basis  of  personal  faith  and  upon  the  remains 
of  an  exclusive  religion,  the  church,  the  true  Christian 
humanity;  and,  by  means  of  the  church,  weak  and 
powerless  in  the  world's  view,  to  penetrate  and  renew 

19* 


222  THE  REDEEMER. 

society,  until  that  day  when  the  new  earth  in  which 
righteousness  shall  dwell  shall  take  the  place  of  this 
earth,  full  of  sin  and  of  conflict  ;  salvation,  in  one 
word,  salvation,  with  all  which  is  comprehended  in 
that  word  :  such  is  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ.  Perfect 
fulfillment  of  the  preparatory  period,  it  surpasses  our 
desires.  God  has  given  more  than  we  dared  to  hope 
for;  and  there  is  not  one  aspiration,  one  legitimate 
desire,  which  is  not  gloriously  satisfied  by  this  divine 
plan. 

You  will  doubtless  have  remarked,  my  brethren, 
and  perhaps  regretted,  the  polemic  tone  of  this  dis- 
course ;  but  it  was  impossible  for  us,  while  considering 
the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ,  not  to  be  constantly  compar- 
ing it  with  doctrines  which  pervert  it.  Is  it  our  fault 
if  there  is  a  "church  which  seems  to  have  taken  to 
heart  the  task  of  disfiguring  his  plan  in  every  one  of 
its  parts  ?  Is  it  our  fault  if,  whilst  Jesus  Christ  estab- 
lished the  ministry  of  the  Spirit  and  the  law  of  liberty, 
that  church  by  its  traditions  raises  up  again  the  min- 
istry of  the  dead  letter  and  the  law  of  commandments  ? 
Are  we  to  blame  if,  while  Jesus  Christ  instituted 
the  worship  which  is  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  that 
church  erects  temples  as  splendid  as  the  ancient  sanc- 
tuary, with  images  superadded  ;  and  if  she  speaks  to 
the  eye,  and  not  to  the  conscience  ?  Are  we  to  blame 
if,  while  Jesus  Christ  has  said,  ''I  am  the  way;  no 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me,"  she  gives  him 
the  lie,  and  says.  It  is  I  who  am  the  way  ;  pass  by  the 
way  of  my  priests  and  my  saints  ?  Are  we  blâmable 
if,  whilst  Jesus  Christ  has  built  a  spiritual  society 
upon  his  word,  a  society  distinct  from  the  world,  but 


THE   PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  223 

open  to  every  one  who  calls  upon  the  name  of  the  Re- 
deemer, that  church,  on  the  one  hand,  summons 
the  multitude  to  introduce  them  by  an  outward  sign 
into  its  bosom,  and  on  the  other  hand  exclaims.  Out 
of  me  no  salvation  ;  anathema  to  whomsoever  does  not 
receive  all  which  our  doctors  have  taught  ?  Are  we 
to  blame  if,  while  Jesus  Christ  has  said,  "  My  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world,"  that  church  claims  the  right  to 
reign  upon  the  earth  after  the  manner  of  kings  and 
princes  ?  Are  we  to  blame  if,  while  Jesus  Christ  was 
poor,  she  wishes  to  be  rich  ;  if,  while  he  was  not  wil- 
ling to  shed  any  blood  but  his  own,  she  approves  of 
persecution,  and  imprisons  and  binds  the  servants  of 
God,  at  this  day,  when,  to  her  very  great  sorrow,  she 
is  no  longer  able  to  put  them  to  death  ?  Are  we  to 
blame  if  that  church  styles  itself  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  ?  Let  us  not  be  arraigned  if  we  fight  against 
it  ;  let  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  be  arraigned.  Let  the 
apostle  Paul  be  blamed,  and  those  letters  in  which 
still  burns  the  fire  of  his  indignation  against  those 
who  desire  to  bring  the  church  back  from  grace  to  the 
law.  If  it  was  allowable  in  a  public  discourse  to 
place  Protestantism  side  by  side  with  Atheism,*  it  is 
allowable'  to  reply  by  placing  Catholicism  side  by  side 
with  Judaism.  Moreover,  there  is  in  our  heart  noth- 
ing but  love  toward  individuals.  We  know  the  force 
of  prejudices.  We  very  well  know  that  there  are 
Christians,  brethren  in  Christ,  who  have  gone  astray 
in  that  great  church,  where,  under  the  appearance  of 
unity,  so  many  tendencies  find  shelter.  If  we  combat 
Romanism,  it  is  because  we  can  not  bear  to  see  so 

*  Discourse  by  Abbé  Combalot. 


224  THE    REDEEMER. 

many  noble  souls  pining  away  in  it,  and  so  many  oth- 
ers keep  aloof  from  Christianity  because  they  confound 
it  with  a  doctrine  which  is  so  complete  a  transforma- 
tion of  it.  Ardent  friends  of  toleration,  we  are  not 
friendly  to  a  false  peace,  and  to  political  management 
in  religion  ;  and  so  long  as  we  sliall  be  able  to  make 
ourselves  heard  we  shall  not  cease  to  say  that  Roman- 
ism strives  against  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  bosom  of  that  church,  my 
brethren,  that  we  meet  with  tendencies  opposed  to  this 
divine  plan.  The  cause  of  Christian  spirituality  is  not 
yet  won  in  the  Reformed  churches.  We  have  seen 
even  in  some  of  them  alarming  returns  toward  Ro- 
manism. What  can  we  say  of  those  clerical  opinions 
which  have  too  often  converted  the  evangelical  minis- 
try into  a  sort  of  priesthood  ?  What  can  we  say  of 
those  false  doctrines  concerning  baptism,  which,  in  the 
very  midst  of  Protestantism,  have  sought  to  enthrone 
the  Romish  sacrament,  the  sacrament  that  saves  by 
the  outward  act,  regeneration  flowing  from  the  bap- 
tismal water  ?  What  can  we  say  of  the  attempt  to 
organize  Christian  states,  true  theocracies,  exhibiting 
anew  precisely  the  old  dispensation,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  miracles  and  a  living  prophetical  order  ?  What 
can  we  say  of  the  union  of  different  churches  with 
governments  ?  What  of  the  denial  of  religious  liberty 
in  Protestant  countries  ?  What  of  a  human  tradition 
of  orthodoxy,  bound  upon  man  without  examination 
on  their  part  ?  What  of  the  admission  into  the  spirit- 
ual society  of  nominal  Christians  in  a  mass  ?  What 
can  we  say  of  a  whole  church  that  has  not  written  over 
its  door  these  words  :  "  Men  enter  not  here  by  birth, 


THE   PLAN   OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  225 

but  through  conversion  "  ?  What  can  we  say  of  all  these 
deviations  from  the  plan  of  Jesus  Clirist,  if  it  be  not, 
"  Judaism,  denial  of  the  new  covenant,  return  toward 
the  old  "  ?  I  express  myself  with  the  more  freedom 
since  we  are  now  able  to  foresee  that  this  noble  cause 
of  Christian  spirituality,  so  often  covered  over  with 
paltry  names  by  its  adversaries,  is  drawing  near  to  its 
triumph. 

Is  not  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  felt  moving  upon 
these  dry  bones  ?  Are  not  all  faithful  Christians  draw- 
ing nigh  to  these  great  principles  ?  Are  they  not  be- 
ginning to  understand  that  the  matter  in  hand  is  not 
concerning  little  questions  about  the  church,  but  con- 
cerning the  church  itself,  the  church  which  pertains 
only  to  her  divine  Spouse,  the  church  which  is  alive 
only  when  separated  from  the  world  ?  Do  they  not 
discern  that  this  generous  desire  of  speaking  to  multi- 
tudes of  men,  v/hich  possesses  so  many  hearts,  will  be 
the  more  fully  realized  in  proportion  as  we  shall  more 
closely  imitate  the  primitive  church,  victorious  over  a 
world  of  which,  to  use  the  apostle's  language,  it  was 
the  offscouring  ?  Yes,  a  fruitful  and  glorious  unity 
is  forming,  in  order  to  labor,  amid  circumstances  of 
peculiar  difficulty,  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  Mas- 
ter's plan.  Labor  at  this,  my  beloved  brethren,  in  the 
path  of  true  principles.  The  question  is  not  with  re- 
gard to  particular  ideas  of  the  church  ;  it  relates  to 
Christian  spirituality,  the  reign  of  the  Spirit,  religious 
sincerity,  personal  faith,  which  is  the  only  real,  the 
only  life-giving  faith.  It  concerns  the  normal  devel- 
opment of  our  glorious  Reformation.  It  concerns  a 
return  to  the  noblest  period  in    the   history  of  the 


226  'J'HE   BEDEEMEn. 

church.  Perhaps  the  time  has  come  to  suffer  for  these 
great  principles  ;  they  also  shall  receive  their  baptism. 
Consider  that  they  are  worth  suffering  for,  for  it  will 
be  suffering  for  God.  Consider  that  persecution  has 
never  impeded  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ,  because  it 
makes  a  part  of  it,  and  is  as  its  crown. 

May  the  consideration  of  this  plan  carry  you  away 
from  the  little  thoughts  and  acts  of  your  wonted  lives. 
When,  in  order  to  realize  it,  you  shall  have  given  all 
your  strength,  all  your  time,  all  your  prayers,  you  will 
still  have  given  too  little.  Above  all,  never  forget 
that  it  has  for  its  only  end  the  salvation  of  souls. 
Cleave  to  no  truth,  however  beautiful  it  may  be,  with- 
out connecting  it  with  this  dominant  aim.  Let  not 
meditation  upon  the  purposes  of  God  prevent  you  from 
immediately  realizing  those  purposes  according  to  the 
measure  of  your  abilities.  The  plan  of  Jesus  Christ 
asks  for  laborers  rather  than  admirers.  Realize  it  first 
for  yourselves  by  your  personal  holiness,  which  is  one 
of  the  great  ends  sought  out  by  him.  Realize  it  with 
regard  to  your  brethren.  Be  not  wearied  with  show- 
ing forth  the  Saviour  as  fulfilling  not  only  the  ancient 
written  covenant,  but  also  that  unwritten  covenant 
which  God  has  made  with  every  man  in  his  heart  and 
in  his  conscience.  Entreat  those  who  surround  you  to 
go  to  the  Saviour.  Tell  them  what  he  has  borne  for 
you.  Tell  them  that  he  destroys  only  evil  and  sin  ; 
that  is  to  say,  that  which  perverts  our  true  nature  ;  and 
that  this  he  perfectly  fulfills.  Appeal  to  their  aspira- 
tions after  the  future  life,  to  their  inconsolable  sor- 
rows, and  show  them  that  only  Jesus  Christ  answers 


THE   PLAN  OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  227 

to  their  inward  wants.  Perhaps  they  will  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  won  ;  perhaps  they  will  seek  him.  Be 
not  disquieted.  The  Saviour  is  so  well  adapted  to  the 
repenting  sinner  that  it  is  impossible  they  should  not 
come  together,  and  you  will  have  the  joy  of  having 
concurred  in  the  fulfillment  of  his  plan  within  the  lim- 
its of  your  strength.  You  will  have  also  to  defend 
this  plan  against  doctrines  which  pervert  it.  This, 
too,  is  one  method  of  realizing  his  plan.  Truth  has 
indefeasible  rights.  We  owe  to  it  our  testimony  in 
season  and  out  of  season.  But  the  polemical  duty  is 
one  of  delicacy,  and  the  only  means  of  well  accomplish- 
ing it  is  to  imitate  Jesus  Christ.  Let  your  contro- 
versy, like  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  be  always  positive. 
Destroy  only  whilst  you  build  up.  Destroy  only  whilst 
you  fulfill.  Never  create  a  void  in  any  heart  by  the 
destruction  of  a  false  belief  without  filling  it  at  once 
by  giving  it  a  superior  belief.  Enable  men  ever  to  com- 
prehend with  increasing  clearness  that  Christianity  is 
essentially  positive  and  affirmative.  With  that  aim, 
seek  their  edification  in  everything,  and  press  every 
doctrine,  every  truth,  till  the  nourishing  marrow  is 
distilled  from  it.  Never  leave  mere  ruins  behind  you, 
but  by  means  of  those  ruins  establish  in  the  mind  of 
your  brethren  the  foundations  of  a  new  edifice.  The 
plan  of  Jesus  Christ  you  are  to  defend  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  he  laid  it  down  himself  when  he  con- 
fronted Judaism. 

In  my  next  discourse  I  will  show  you  with  what  in- 
ward convictions  we  must  labor  upon  this  plan,  by  re- 
calling to  your  minds  the  manner  in  which  the  Sav- 


228  THE  JîEBEEMER. 

iour  fulfilled  it  :  that  is  to  say,  I  shall  speak  to  you 
of  his  holiness.  May  God  grant  us  to  be,  in  regard  to 
this  great  work,  co-workers  with  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  ! 


CHAPTER    YII. 

THE   HOLINESS    OF  JESUS    CHRIST. 

•'  Hereby  perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid  down  his  life  for 
us."  —  1  John  iii.  16. 

AFTER  having  considered  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ, 
we  propose  now  to  inquire  in  what  spirit  he  has 
accomplished  it.  It  does  not  suffice  to  have  formed  a 
lofty  purpose  ;  if  the  manner  in  which  that  purpose  is 
executed  is  not  worthy  of  it,  if  little  passions  are  subsi- 
dized to  aid  a  great  thought,  the  very  beauty  of  the 
plan  renders  this  moral  disharmony  more  culpable  and 
more  painful.  Do  we  not  know  by  experience  that  it 
is  possible  to  have  the  most  generous  and  elevated 
conceptions,  to  set  them  forth  with  a  degree  of  good 
faith,  and  yet,  in  defending  and  accomplishing  them, 
to  be  swayed  by  inferior  motives  ?  On  the  other  hand, 
we  seldom  see  a  man  who  avows  a  low  and  interested 
object  ;  and  should  he  carry  his  cynicism  to  that  ex- 
tent, it  could  be  expressed  only  in  the  closest  inti- 
macy. Never  in  the  presence  of  assembled  men 
would  he  dare  to  manifest  a  shameful  and  vulgar  sel- 
fishness. The  human  conscience  would  not  brook 
such  a  want  of  respect,  and  it  would  take  vengeance  on 
the  offender  by  vehement  indignation.  Nothing  shows 
more  clearly  its  power,  notwithstanding  tlie  Fall,  than 
the  necessity  imposed  on  the  wicked  man  of  coming  to 

20  229 


230  THE   REDEEMER. 

terms  with  conscience.  Before  he  is  able  to  begin  the 
dissemination  of  a  bad  doctrine,  he  is  obliged  to  ask  a 
kind  of  passport  of  his  conscience,  by  assuming  to  him- 
self a  semblance  of  generosity  and  moral  elevation. 
He  hangs  out  his  flag  to  hide  deceitfully  his  detestable 
merchandise.  It  is  thus  that  systems  of  sheer  materi- 
alism are  placed  under  cover  of  the  great  principles  of 
justice  and  love  to  man.  Often  this  is  not  hypocrisy, 
at  least  not  willful  hypocrisy.  Man  is  self-deceived, 
self-deluded.  The  evident  greatness  of  the  object  is 
not  therefore  a  sufficient  guaranty  of  the  moral  great- 
ness of  him  who  conceived  that  object.  Perverseness 
may  be  hidden  beneath  beautiful  and  noble  •  words. 
But  without  going  so  far,  admitting  the  plan  to  be 
admirable,  and  the  sincerity  unquestionable,  is  there 
not  a  lamentable  weakness  inherent  in  human  nature, 
which  often  reduces  the  most  elevated  views  concern- 
ing our  vocation  to  a  hopeless  ideal  ?  Is  not  this  dis- 
tance between  our  ideal  and  our  life  one  of  our  suffer- 
ings that  are  most  inward  and  most  constant  ?  Is  it 
not  the  seal  of  our  imperfection  ? 

We  could  not,  then,  content  ourselves  with  acknowl- 
edging that  the  plan  of  Jesus  Christ  surpasses  all  that 
which  man  could  ever  foresee  or  anticipate,  that  it  is 
truly  a  plan  worthy  of  redeeming  love.  If  this  plan 
of  love  has  not  been  realized  by  love  ;  if  the  person  of 
Christ  does  not  attain  to  the  hight  of  his  purposes  ;  if 
it  is  possible  to  find  one  shadow  in  the  picture,  one 
imperfection  in  his  life,  —  this  plan  will  have  been  the 
purest,  divinest  dream  of  humanity,  but  it  is  nothing 
more:  we  have  no  Saviour,  salvation  is  not  achieved. 
For  it  is  not  with  this  plan  as  with  others.     We  may 


THE   HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  231 

admit  that  in  a  moment  of  inspiration  a  man  of  genius 
conceives  a  fruitful  idea,  that  he  casts  it  into  the  world, 
and  that  it  there  makes  its  way  without  him.  It  mat- 
ters little  really  how  he  defends  it.  The  idea  is  not 
incorporate  with  him.  On  the  contrary,  the  plan  of 
Jesus  Christ  can  not  he  separated  from  his  person,  for 
its  first  condition  is  the  Saviour's  holiness.  Thus,  my 
brethren,  the  question  about  to  occupy  us  is  intimately 
connected  with  that  which  we  examined  in  our  last 
discourse.  Was  the  Saviour  perfectly  holy  ?  that  is 
tantamount  to  asking.  Was  his  plan  fulfilled,  or  is  it 
still  one  of  those  chimeras,  one  of  those  clouds  of  more 
or  less  of  brilliancy  which  have  only  flitted  across  the 
horizon  of  humanity  ?  Would  that  I  might,  my  breth- 
ren, in  place  of  all  demonstration  of  my  Saviour's  holi- 
ness, lead  you  to  his  feet  :  were  I  permitted  to  bring 
you  to  behold  him,  as  the  inhabitants  of  Judasa  saw 
him  eighteen  centuries  since,  I  am  persuaded  that  the 
conviction  of  his  holiness  would  seize  upon  you  with 
irresistible  force.  It  would  appear  to  you  as  clear  as 
the  sun,  it  would  overflow  you  like  the  light  of  the  day. 
The  exceeding  humility  and  gentleness  of  his  aspect  ; 
the  noble  purity  of  that  brow  crowned  with  a  pitying 
sadness  before  it  was  crowned  with  thorns  ;  his  expres- 
sion, profound  like  the  love  of  God,  benevolent  like  the 
love  of  a  brother  ;  his  simple  and  compassionate  speech  ; 
that  group  of  afflicted  ones  gathered  around  him  as 
around  their  natural  comforter  ;  the  traces  of  toil  and 
suffering  upon  those  features,  which  remind  you  that 
he  has  not  where  to  lay  his  head;  that  whole  character, 
both  divine  and  human,  which  you  would  thus  gaze 
upon,  would  tell  you  more  than  all  wliich  we  could  un- 


282  THE  REDEEMER. 

fold.  And  truly,  our  remarks  will  be  useless  if  you 
have  not  obtained  in  some  degree  that  view  of  Jesus 
Christ.  I  rely  uj^on  this  sudden,  irresistible  demon- 
stration which  takes  possession  of  an  upright  mind  on 
its  first  contact  with  our  Lord.  Where  this  should  fail, 
no  evidence  would  be  convincing.  To  render  it  more 
present  to  your  minds  and  your  hearts;  to  develop 
that  which  is  implicitly  contained  therein  ;  to  speak  to 
you  of  the  holiness  of  the  Saviour  with  the  only  pur- 
pose of  sending  you  to  him  with  stronger  desires  to  be- 
hold him  ;  to  leave  you  in  the  presence  of  his  abso- 
lute perfection  prostrate  in  the  dust,  and  to  bend  my 
knee  there  with  you  to  adore  him,  or  rather  to  give 
scope  to  our  common  adoration,  —  such  is  the  entire 
aim  of  this  discourse,  which  I  ask  my  God  to  bless  to 
you  and  to  me. 

I  shall  not  pause  long  to  prove  the  holiness  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  prefer  rather  to  show  it  to  you. 
And  this  not  because  we  are  not  very  strong  in  this 
lower  ground.  If  it  be  true,  as  we  have  said,  that 
there  is  often  a  want  of  harmony  between  a  beautiful 
plan  and  the  acts  or  sentiments  of  him  who  conceived 
it,  we  ought,  nevertheless,  to  admit  that  a  plan  truly 
perfect  implies  moral  perfection.  At  the  highest  ele- 
vation all  lines  come  together  ;  they  separate  and 
break  only  at  a  lower  point.  Perfection  of  under- 
standing must  correspond  with  perfection  of  moral 
life.  It  may  be  admitted  that  a  thou.ght  half  en- 
lightened is  compatible  with  a  heart  more  or  less 
defiled.  But  if  the  understanding  is  completely  lu- 
minous, we  must  conclude  that  the  soul  is  altogether 
pure.     As   long  as  there  is   one  sin  in   the  soul,  a 


THE   HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  233 

shadow  will  spread  itself  over  the  understanding  ;  if 
this  is  truly  without  shadow,  it  is  because  the  being  to 
whom  it  belongs  is  without  sin.  Perfect  truth  and 
perfect  goodness  blend  together  in  one  and  the  same 
ray,  as  luminous  as  it  is  pure.  Thus  from  the  per- 
fection of  Christ's  plan  we  can  already  infer  his 
holiness. 

We  have,  moreover,  his  own  testimony.  "Which 
of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin  ?"  he  asked  his  ene- 
mies. "  The  prince  of  this  world  hath  nothing  in 
me,"  he  said  to  his  disciples  at  the  end  of  his  earthly 
career.  He  could  invoke  alike  the  testimony  of  his 
friends  and  his  adversaries.  Those  who  transmitted 
to  us  the  narrative  of  his  life  were  his  immediate  dis- 
ciples. They  lived  in  intimacy  with  him  :  they  saw 
him  not  only  on  the  public  pccasions  when  he  taught 
the  people  ;  they  followed  him  everywhere,  even  into 
the  desert,  whither  he  loved  to  withdraw  ;  they  never 
left  him  ;  and  they  would  all,  doubtless,  have  repeated 
those  words  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  He  was 
in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin." 
What  man  is  there,  what  hero,  what  saint,  who  could 
approve  himself  worthy  of  such  a  judgment  under 
such  unceasing  observation  ?  The  testimony  of  the 
enemies  of  Jesus  Christ  is  still  more  conclusive. 
Their  fixed  purpose  was  to  ruin  him  ;  not  only  had 
they  spies  in  watch  for  him,  they  also  laid  snares  for 
him  ;  and  when  the  time  arrived  for  gathering  the 
fruit  of  these  diabolic  devices,  when  they  brought  him 
to  trial,  they  found  themselves  obliged  to  suborn  false 
witnesses,  to  pay  them,  and  these  false  witnesses 
could  allege  nothing  but  a  single  word  of  the  Master, 

20* 


234  THE   REDEEMER. 

perfidiously  interpreted  by  them.  What  more  strik- 
ing homage  could  be  rendered  to  the  holiness  of  the 
Saviour?  The  mere  attempt  to  darken  it  required 
the  purchasing  of  stupid  falsehoods.  But  the  hatred 
of  the  enemies  of  Jesus  Christ  is  yet  higher  evidence 
in  his  favor.  When  we  see  not  only  great  criminals, 
like  Herod,  but  also  honorable  people  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  world,  like  the  Pharisees,  and  wise  skeptics, 
like  the  Sadducees,  roaring  with  rage  against  our  Lord  ; 
when  we  see  the  most  considerable  man  in  the  nation, 
the  high  priest,  so  carried  away  at  a  solemn  trial  as 
to  buffet  the  accused,  we  may  be  assured  that  it  is  no 
half-holiness  that  lighted  up  that  hatred,  but  that,  in 
order  to  bring  the  darkness  to  such  a  violent  opposi- 
tion against  the  truth,  it  needed  nothing  less  than 
light  in  its  utmost  clearness. 

We  have  also  an  impregnable  argument  of  fact. 
The  entire  church  rests  upon  the  perfect  holiness  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Upon  this  faith  she  is  built.  Take 
this  away  from  the  church,  and  it  falls  to  pieces.  Are 
we  not  right  in  reasoning  from  the  strength  and 
majesty  of  the  edifice  to  the  strength  of  the  founda- 
tion itself?  What  !  this  temple,  or  rather  this  citadel, 
constantly  assailed,  to  which  every  age  in  its  turn  has 
laid  siege,  shall  be  regarded  as  resting  upon  a  le- 
gend ?  Instead  of  the  corner-stone  which  seemed  to 
us  as  indestructible  as  the  rock,  we  have  but  the  shift- 
ing sand  of  a  false  tradition  ?  What  !  is  it  thus,  while 
reposing  upon  a  lie,  that  the  Christian  faith  has  tri- 
umphed over  so  many  storms  and  in  so  many  com- 
bats ?  It  might  as  well  be  said  that  one  of  those 
Roman  edifices  which  are  victorious  over  the  ages 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  235 

was  built  upon  a  crumbling  base.  Let  us  confess 
that  the  church  is  a  permanent  witness  of  the  holiness 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

Finally,  my  brethren,  the  very  idea  of  the  holiness 
of  our  Saviour,  as  presented  in  the  gospel,  guarantees 
its  historic  verity.  Before  Christianity  no  similar 
idea  had  existed.  Moral  perfection  had  been  descried 
dimly,  but  how  limited  among  the  Jews,  how  defiled 
among  pagans  !  The  Christian  ideal,  by  which  I 
understand  the  perfection  which  the  gospel  makes 
known,  —  that  ideal  of  humility  and  love  could  be 
known  only  in  being  realized.  A  history,  a  divine 
history,  lies  at  the  basis  of  this  entirely  new  concep- 
tion of  holiness.  Whence  could  men  have  derived 
the  colors  to  paint  the  picture  of  a  life  like  the  life  of 
Christ  ?  Had  they  ever  seen  anything  like  it  ?  Could 
Greece  have  furnished  the  humility  ?  Was  it  possible 
for  the  stern  Jewish  theology  to  exhibit  the  charity  ? 
Add  that  it  is  at  the  epoch  of  the  most  frightful  cor- 
ruption that  this  type  of  perfect  goodness  is  supposed 
to  have  been  invented.  If  the  gospel  is  an  invention, 
we  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  with  Rousseau,  that  the  in- 
ventor is  more  wonderful  than  the  hero  !  It  is  easier 
to  believe  in  the  holy  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  than  to  be- 
lieve that  the  evangelists  imagined  such  holiness. 
One  miracle  compared  with  another,  the  former  ap- 
pears to  us  the  more  rational  ;  and  as  this  miracle 
is  the  great  support  of  our  faith,  we  adhere  to  it 
with  the  most  entire  certainty  and  the  most  joyous 
confidence. 

The  holiness  of  Jesus  Christ, — we  will  now  indicate 
its  general  characteristics.     Before  all  else  it  is  hu- 


236  ,  THE   REDEEMER. 

man  ;  it  does  not  lie  beyond  the  conditions  of  our 
nature.  The  life  of  Jesus  Christ  is  verily  a  man's 
life,  or  rather  it  is  the  life  of  God  in  human  life.  The 
more  divine  human  life  is,  the  more  does  it  approach 
its  ideal,  that  is  to  say,  its  true  destination.  Jesus 
Christ  is  with  God,  he  lives  in  God,  and  by  virtue  of 
that  very  fact  he  is  the  perfect  man,  the  typical  man. 
He  is  also  our  model  and  our  law  ;  and  the  apostles 
were  fully  authorized  to  say  to  us,  "  Be  ye  followers 
of  him  ;  have  the  same  mind  which  was  also  in  him." 
More  than  this  :  we  dare  affirm  that  Jesus  Christ 
has  himself  known,  he  also,  trial  of  his  freedom.  We 
believe  with  all  our  soul  in  his  original  purity,  but  we 
equally  believe  in  the  reality  of  his  humiliation.  He 
submitted  himself  to  the  moral  condition  of  hu- 
manity. He  passed  through  his  conflict  and  his 
temptation,  and  that  perfection  which  he  possessed  by 
nature,  he  acquired  as  it  were  anew  by  the  de- 
termination of  his  will.  In  this  there  abides  a  great 
mystery.  How  conceive  that  the  Son  of  God  has 
been  tempted  ?  But  how  admit  that  the  Son  of  man, 
the  second  Adam,  could  save  the  lost  race  without 
moral  trial  ?  That  night  in  Gethsemane,  those  cries 
and  tears,  that  agitation  of  the  conflict,  that  triumph 
purchased  at  the  price  of  so  many  sorrows,  —  would 
not  all  that  touching  scene  related  by  the  evangelists 
be  but  a  vain  illusion,  a  kind  of  theatrical  representa- 
tion ?  In  that  event  let  no  one  speak  to  us  of  Christ 
as  a  pattern.  If  his  divinity  placed  him  above  trial 
and  conflict,  we  have  nothing  in  common  with  him. 
Doubtless  his  temptations  differed  from  ours.  The 
tempter  had  nothing  in  him,  whilst  in  our  natural  incli- 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  237 

nations  he  finds  numerous  points  of  contact.  Never 
did  he  succeed  in  exciting  a  single  wrong  desire  in 
the  holy  soul  of  the  Redeemer.  But  it  is  none  the 
less  true  that  Jesus  Christ  performed  an  act  of  his 
will  to  preserve  the  holiness  which  he  had  brought 
from  heaven.  When  Scripture  tells  us  that  he 
groaned  and  cried  unto  God,  in  these  words  we  do 
not  see  a  mere  image,  but  a  positive  fact,  a  precious 
fact,  which  establishes  a  complete  oneness  between  us 
and  him.  The  greatness  of  the  trials  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  the  seal  of  his  holiness.  We  know  not  what  to 
think  of  a  man  who  has  not  been  tried.  Secret  forces 
of  evil  may  be  sleeping  in  him  for  lack  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  manifest  themselves.  There  is  no  sure 
holiness  except  the  holiness  revealed  in  the  midst  of 
pain  and  peril.  In  this  point  of  view  what  was  want- 
ing to  Jesus  Christ?  What  snares,  what  assaults, 
what  sufferings  had  not  befallen  him  ?  The  people 
wished  to  make  him  a  king,  and  they  sacrificed  him. 
He  underwent  the  trial  of  extreme  enthusiasm  and 
that  of  extreme  ignominy  ;  and  finally  he  suffered 
himself  to  be  led  forth  to  punishment.  Does  not 
holiness  crucified  become  holiness  perfected  ?  Is  it 
possible  to  go  beyond  that  ?  Who  does  not  perceive, 
then,  that  trial,  earnest  human  trial,  was  necessary  to 
the  Redeemer's  glory  ? 

The  holiness  of  Jesus  Christ,  while  profoundly  hu- 
man, is  distinguished  by  a  characteristic  which  is  ex- 
clusively its  own  ;  it  is  harmony  in  the  qualities  of  the 
soul.  You  do  not  discover  this  harmony  in  any  other 
man.  Take  the  greatest,  and  you  will  see  that  this 
greatiiess  results  from  the  marvelous  play  of  some 


238  THE  REDEEMER. 

one  of  their  faculties.  That  which  strikes  us  in  them 
is  that  which  rises  above  the  level  of  their  souls.  An 
isolated  quality  is  the  more  remarked  because  it  is  spe- 
cially detached  from  that  which  is  fundamental  in  the 
moral  life.  And  yet  there  is  in  this  an  imperfection. 
It  is  important  that  the  entire  moral  life  should  be 
raised,  and  should  be  purified,  and  not  that  it  should 
project  itself  particularly  on  one  side.  We  are  con- 
stantly suffering  ourselves  to  be  deluded  in  this  re- 
spect. We  experience  a  more  lively  and  eager  admi- 
ration on  beholding  the  waves  of  the  sea  lifted  up  by 
the  tempest  than  on  seeing  the  same  waves  in  smooth- 
ness and  repose.  Yet  the  heavens  are  better  reflected 
in  the  quiet  sea  than  in  the  sea  when  tempest-tossed. 
Human  greatness,  as  it  ordinarily  exhibits  itself  to  us, 
is  an  impetuous  wave,  rising  above  other  waves  in  ma- 
jesty and  in  thunderous  sound.  The  holiness  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  like  the  limpid  water  which  reflects  the 
azure  of  the  sky  in*  its  immense  expanse  and  its  peace- 
ful luster.  In  his  holiness  there  is  nothing  that  shows, 
for  the  very  reason  that  it  is  absolutely  perfect  ;  it  gushes 
forth  from  the  depths  of  his  being,  always  alike,  equal 
to  itself;  it  is  rather  inward  than  outward  ;  it  sacrifices 
nothing  to  the  glory  that  comes  from  man,  and  knows 
neither  fluctuation  nor  decline.  Moreover,  all  the 
great  words  by  which  exceptional  qualities  of  mind 
or  soul  are  designated  have  no  application  to  Jesus 
Christ.  It  will  not  be  said  that  he  possessed  wonder- 
ful genius  ;  nor  will  it  be  said  that  he  was  a  hero  ;  one 
feels, that  a  certain  ifttellectual  greatness,  or  a  certain 
moral  greatness,  separately  considered,  would  not  be 
in  agreement  with  his  character.     One  word  alone  is 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  239 

worthy  of  him  ;  it  is  holiness,  because  he  comprehends 
at  once  all  perfections. 

But,  my  brethren,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  contemplate 
in  a  general  manner  the  characteristics  of  Christ's  ho- 
liness: We  must  also  learn  the  elements  that  com- 
posed it.  Pagan  antiquity  has  already  anticipated  the 
knowledge  that  holiness  consists  in  imitating  God. 
This  fruitful  truth  has  been  admirably  stated  in  the 
gospel.  "  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,"  said  Jesus  Christ, 
"  even  as  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven  is  perfect." 
What  can  be  clearer  and  more  conformed  to  the  sim- 
plest suggestions  of  conscience  ?  Where  should  the 
type  of  perfection  be  found,  if  not  in  God  himself? 
Can  a  perfection  be  admitted  which  is  without  him  ? 
Is  he  not  the  supreme  beauty,  truth,  and  goodliess  ? 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  anything  better  than 
a  life  conformed  to  him,  and  reproducing  the  linea- 
ments of  the  divine  image.  If  we  then  wish  to  have 
a  precise  idea  of  holiness,  we  have  only  to  ask  our- 
selves what  is  the  nature  of  God.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  enumerate  all  his  glorious  attributes.  There  is  one 
which  rises  above  and  comprehends  all  the  rest  :  it  is 
love.  "  God  is  love,"  says  St.  John.  Charity,  love, 
that  is  the  nature,  the  very  being  of  God.  The  gospel 
reveals  it  to  us,  —  I  should  rather  say,  reveals  it  to  our 
minds  ;  for,  in  listening  to  this  revelation,  conscience 
embraces  it  as  a  truth  for  which  it  was  prepared,  and 
which  it  had  formerly  known.  There  is  not  a  human 
conscience  that  does  not  acknowledge  that  there  is 
nothing  morally  so  great  or  so  beautiful  as  love.  If, 
then,  Jesus  Christ  was  perfectly  holy,  he  would  have 
perfectly  represented  in  himself  the  divine  nature,  and 


240  THE   REDEEMER. 

his  life  would  have  been  the  perfect  manifestation  of 
charity,  for  charity  and  holiness  are  inseparable.  In 
order  to  prove  his  holiness  we  need  only  show  you  his 
love,  to  which  our  text  formally  invites  us  :  "  Hereby 
perceive  we  the  love  of  God,  because  he  laid  down 
his  life  for  us."  Love  is  manifested  in  the  different 
relations  of  life.  But  we  sustain  relations  with  God 
first,  and  then  with  our  brethren.  The  law  of  love  is 
fulfilled  in  this  twofold  relationship.  The  great  precept 
of  the  old  law  and  of  the  new  comprehends  alike  the 
love  of  God  and  the  love  of  our  brethren.  We  have, 
therefore,  to  set  before  you  as  well  Christ's  love  to  the 
Father  as  his  love  to  men. 

Love  consists,  according  to  the  teaching  of  St.  John, 
in  laying  down  one's  life  for  others  ;  it  is  a  gratuitous 
gift,  perfectly  disinterested.  It  is  first  revealed  by  the 
despoiling  of  itself,  by  inward  renunciation  ;  it  is 
afterward  realized  by  sacrifice  or  outward  despoiling 
of  itself;  and  it  is  finally  consummated  in  the  divine 
and  immortal  joy  of  love,  for  a  sacrifice  which  does 
not  bring  happiness,  which  is  offered  reluctantly,  is 
not  a  true  sacrifice.  In  order,  then,  to  depict  to  you 
the  holiness  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  shall  have  to  depict, 
in  so  far  as  this  is  given  to  man,  his  inward  renuncia- 
tion, his  sacrifice,  or  his  constant  self-immolation,  and 
the  holy  and  divine  joy  of  his  charity,  whether  God 
were  its  object,  or  whether  it  expanded  over  our  poor 
humanity.  If  we  succeed  in  thus  engraving  the 
thought  of  our  text  upon  your  hearts,  we  shall  need 
to  add  nothing  in  order  to  establish  our  Saviour's  holi- 
ness ;.  for  what  is  there  more  holy,  more  perfect,  more 
divine,  than  love  ? 


THE   HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  241 

Humility  is  the  first  form  of  inward  renunciation  ; 
without  humility,  it  is  vain,  though  we  give  up  all  .our 
goods,  though  we  should  deliver  our  bodies  to  be 
burned  ;  those  sacrifices  would  not  be  sacrifices,  or 
rather  they  would  be  offered  to  ourselves.  Our  tears 
and  our  blood  would  be  poured  out  upon  the  altar  of 
pride  and  selfishness.  Without  humility,  sacrifice  is 
hypocrisy,  and  dévotement  a  falsehood.  We  must 
then  speak,  first  of  all,  of  tlie  humility  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Call  to  mind  the  picture  of  him  given  by  St.  Paul  in 
a  few  words  :  ''  Being  in  the  form  of  God,  he  thought  it 
not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God  ;  but  made  himself 
of  no  reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a 
servant,  and  was  made  in  the  likeness  of  men  ;  and 
being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he  humbled  himself." 
The  incarnation,  the  voluntary  poverty  an4  the  cruci- 
fixion of  Jesus  Christ,  are  the  great  manifestations  of 
his  humility.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  insist 
upon  this  infinite  self-abasement,  this  humiliation  of  the 
Son  of  God.  It  is  evident  that  he  who,  being  rich,  rich 
in  all  divine  glory,  became  poor,  poor  in  regard  to  his 
being  a  man,  and  poor  even  among  men,  will  never 
seek  for  earthly  glory.  After  that  which  he  had  left 
in  heaven,  after  having  left  the  right  hand  of  the 
Almighty  and  the  throne  of  Omnipotence,  what  could 
our  low  world,  our  world  of  sin,  offer  him  ?  And  yet, 
when  we  remember  the  pitiable  weaknesses  of  human 
nature,  we  are  filled  with  wonder  if  we  consider  the 
constant  humility  of  Christ  in  the  different  phases  of 
his  life  !  What  humility  toward  his  Father  !  We  are 
touched  by  the  self-denial  of  John  the  Baptist,  who 
with  a  holy  impatience  refers  all  the  homage  and  ad- 


242  THE  REDEEMER. 

oration  offered  him  to  the  person  of  the  Saviour.  How 
his  humility  pales  beside  that  of  Jesus  Christ  !  The 
only  Son  of  God,  he  utters  not  a  word,  he  performs 
not  a  miracle,  without  rendering  the  glory  to  the  Fa- 
ther. He  is  never  wearied  with  repeating  that  he  is 
doing  his  work,  that  he  is  his  messenger.  How  many 
times  does  it  not  happen  to  us,  frail  messengers  of 
God,  miserable  and  unworthy  embassadors  of  his 
grace,  to  pervert  to  our  advantage  the  glory  which 
pertains  to  him  alone  !  The  earthen  vessel  in  which 
the  heavenly  treasure  is  deposited  glories  in  possess- 
ing this  treasure,  as  if  it  truly  belonged  to  itself!  And 
he  in  whom  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  dwelt 
bodily,  the  Eternal  Word  incaranate,  the  Holy  One 
and  the  Just  One,  ceased  not  during  his  entire  earthly 
career  to  prostrate  himself  in  spirit  before  the  Father  ! 
He  was  the  most  humble  of  his  Father's  servants.  He 
declares  that  the  Father  giveth  him  all  power.  He 
goes  so  far  as  to  say,  "I  can  of  mine  own  self  do 
nothing."  "  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so 
hath  he  given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself." 
John  V.  26.  If  he  speaks,  it  is  in  his  Father's  name. 
"  My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his  that  sent  me." 
John  vii.  16.  If  he  performs  a  miracle,  his  eyes,  lifted 
up  to  heaven  in  humble  prayer,  show  whence  he  de- 
rives his  strength.  "  The  works  which  the  Father 
hath  given  me  to  finish."  John  v.  36.  If  a  few  dis- 
ciples gather  around  him,  he  does  not  attribute  it  to 
his  word,  so  divine  and  so  powerful,  or  to  his  shining 
works  :  "No  man  can  come  to  me  except  the  Father 
which  hath  sent  me  draw  him."  Were  a  feeble  wit- 
ness of  the  truth,  like  him  who  speaks  to  you,  your 


THE   HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  243 

companion  in  sin  and  in  condemnation,  to  urge  with 
such  energy  his  absolute  dependence  upon  God,  his 
humility  would  be  considered  remarkable;  it  would 
justly  be  regarded  as  uncommon  and  exceptional. 
What  shall  we  say  then  of  our  divine  Saviour  ?  As 
far  elevated  above  us  in  holiness  and  power  as  the 
heavens  are  above  the  earth,  he  yet  subjected  himself 
to  his  Father  as  no  one  of  us  has  ever  done.  Let  us 
confess  that  there  lies  as  great  a  distance  between 
his  humility  and  ours,  as  between  his  perfection  and 
our  unworthiness. 

Let  us  contemplate  this  same  humility  as  regards 
the  relations  of  Jesus  Christ  with  men.  Who  has 
ever  in  the  kingdom  of  God  been  in  such  utter  loneli- 
ness as  he  ?  Who  has  labored  beneath  the  burden  of 
such  a  shame  ?  I  do  not  refer  to  Christians  of  the 
present  day.  Some  have  endured  outrages  for  Christ's 
sake.  But  the  greater  part  know  only  from  their  rec- 
ollections of  history  what  St.  Paul  has  called  the  re- 
proach of  Christ.  They  are  well  received  even  in  the 
world  ;  they  have  encountered  there  a  certain  degree 
of  opposition,  but  the  distance  is  very  great  from  this 
opposition  to  shame  and  reproach.  No,  we  do  not 
know  what  it  is  to  be  treated  like  the  dogs  of  men 
and  the  offscourings  of  the  earth.  We  have  not  been 
covered  with  filth,  we  have  not  been  scourged  and 
spit  upon.  A  polite  and  refined  society  endures  us 
patiently,  probably  because  we  endure  them  too  well 
ourselves.  There  are  countries  where  piety  is  an  occa- 
sion for  public  respect  and  consideration  ;  there  are 
countries  —  and  we  envy  them  not — where  evangeli- 
cal Christianity  stands  well  at  court,  where  it  may 


244  THE  REDEEMER. 

count  upon  the  most  exalted  dignities  and  the  most 
coveted  positions.  I  know  that  it  is  not  thus  every- 
where ;  reproach  is  still  found  in  the  bosom  of  the 
family,  for  that  man  who  is  a  solitary  believer  among 
his  kinsfolk,  and  who  is  faithful  ;  and  in  the  few  coun- 
tries, also,  where  persecutions  yet  exist.  But  what 
compensations  there  are  !  By  the  grace  of  God  there 
is  a  great  believing  people  on  the  earth,  scattered 
abroad  in  every  place.  Christian  sympathy  is  like  an 
immense  electrical  chain  which  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye  is  shaken  throughout  its  whole  extent.  If  a  Chris- 
tian at  this  day  is  persecuted  and  trampled  on  some- 
where, he  excites  the  warmest  interest,  he  becomes 
the  object  of  thousands  of  prayers,  his  name  flies 
from  mouth  to  mouth.  If  he  does  not  grow  in  humility 
in  proportion  as  he  rises  in  the  esteem  of  his  brethren, 
the  unquenchable  thirst  for  glory  which  is  in  our  souls 
is  revived  in  him,  and  he  tastes  treacherous  praises, 
which  come  to  him  disguised  as  prayers.  The  natural 
heart  is  satisfied  in  that  lust  which  is  most  difficult  to 
be  repressed.  Something  like  this  might  have  occurred 
at  the  very  origin  of  the  church,  at  the  epoch  when  it 
could  be  justly  said  that  men  bore  in  their  bodies  the 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  When  the  apostle  had  been 
smitten  with  rods  by  the  officers  of  the  Sanhedrim,  or 
treated  like  a  fanatical  fool,  he  could  ascend  to  the 
upper  chamber  in  Jerusalem  ;  there  he  would  be  sur- 
rounded with  brethren  who  covered  him  with  their 
tears,  and  testified  to  him  their  affection  and  their  ad- 
miration. In  this  narrow  circle  pride  might  still  find 
its  food.     Among  all  the  servants  of  God  only  one 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  245 

labored  at  his  work  without  any  amends  of  this  de- 
scription. Those  who  awarded  glory  in  his  nation 
were  his  passionate  enemies  and  calumniators.  It 
would  have  been  easy  for  him  to  gain  them  over  by 
a  flattering  word.  Instead  of  such  a  word,  he  smote 
their  hypocrisy  with  an  anathema  that  could  never  be 
forgotten.  The  people  would  willingly  have  made  him 
their  king,  but  not  only  did  he  regret  their  gross  hom- 
age, he  also  trampled  under  his  feet  their  most  cher- 
ished prejudices.  The  solitude  that  invested  him  was 
enhanced.  He  labored  without  the  support  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  people,  and  without  the  sympathy  of  the 
people  themselves.  True,  a  few  disciples  surrounded 
him  ;  but  they  were  so  poor,  so  wretched,  so  ignorant, 
that  they  added  to  his  ignominy.  Moreover,  they  un- 
derstood him  not  ;  they  had  not  as  yet  a  just  idea  of 
his  work.  He  accomplished  it  alone.  And  when  the 
time  of  peculiar  travail  came,  when  he  was  about  to 
dig  the  furrow  in  which  should  be  deposited  the  seed 
of  eternal  life  to  be  watered  with  his  blood,  he  looked 
around  him,  and,  behold!  he  stood  alone;  there  was 
no  one  to  uphold  him.  His  friends  had  fled.  In  the 
vast  universe  there  was  not  one  soul  truly  in  commun- 
ion with  his  own.  His  reproach  was  complete,  abso- 
lute. Oh,  loneliness  of  my  Saviour,  unexampled  igno- 
miny, shame  willingly  endured  !  Unequaled  humility  ! 
Self-renunciation  is  first  manifested  by  humility  ; 
but  this  does  not  exhaust  it.  To  renounce  glory  is  not 
all  ;  we  must  also  renounce  self-will,  our  own  interests, 
all  that  which  we  possess.  To  renounce  one's  inter- 
ests, will,  and  self  for  God,  is  at  once  to  obey  God. 
Obedience  is  the  realization  of  love.     Glow  of  feelings, 

21* 


246  THE   REDEEMER. 

ardent  convictions,  burning  words  of  adoration,  are 
not  equal  to  the  smallest  act  of  submission.  It  is  easy 
to  be  moved,  and  to  break  forth  in  praises.  This  may 
be  a  kind  of  fever,  an  excitement  of  the  heart  which 
subsides  as  rapidly  as  it  rose.  Love  is  neither  an  ec- 
stasy nor  a  song  :  it  is  a  gift  ;  and  there  is  no  true 
gift  except  that  which  springs  from  the  will.  Obedi- 
ence to  God  is  therefore  the  most  sincere  manifesta- 
tion of  love  toward  him. 

You  know,  my  brethren,  how  far  Christ's  obedience 
to  his  Father  extended.  The  entire  work  of  redemp- 
tion was  an  act  of  obedience  ;  and  we  love  to  insist 
upon  this  view  because  it  brings  forward  the  profound 
harmony  which  exists  between  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
The  salvation  of  men  was  a  purpose  of  God's  will  ;  in 
accomplishing  it  Jesus  Christ  realized  the  designs  of 
God.  "  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto 
himself."  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  ca- 
reer our  Saviour  had  a  deep  consciousness  of  this  plan 
of  divine  compassion.  He  executed  it  in  all  its  parts 
with  the  most  complete  submission.  Antecedently  to 
his  incarnation,  the  Son  is  shown  to  us  as  fulfilling  the 
will  of  his  Father.  From  all  eternity  he  has  said, 
''  Here  am  I  ;  I  delight  to  do  thy  will  ;  "  and  he  offered 
himself  as  the  pure  victim  of  the  pure  sacrifice.  During 
the  course  of  his  earthly  life  he  has  but  one  thought, 
and  that  is  obedience.  This  is  already  expressed  in 
the  first  word  uttered  by  him  which  is  given  in  the 
gospel  :  "  Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's 
business  ?  "  When  in  the  full  career  of  his  ministry, 
he  sums  it  up  in  these  words  :  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the 
will  of  Him  that  sent  me."     Step  by  step  he  follows 


THE   HOLINESS    OF  JESUS    CHRIST.  247 

tliat  lioly  will  ;  he  cared  for  it  alone.  If  he  betakes 
himself  to  some  city  or  some  village,  it  is  by  the 
prompting  of  the  Spirit.  When  the  Spirit  drives  him 
into  the  desert,  he  goes  into  the  desert.  When  it 
takes  him  apart  far  from  his  enemies,  he  remains  in 
the  most  lonely  regions.  When  it  leads  him  to  Jeru- 
salem, although  it  were  at  a  time  of  the  greatest  dan- 
ger, when  the  hatred  of  the  Jews  is  bursting  forth 
with  savage  violence,  he  does  not  hesitate.  He  who 
hid  himself  yesterday  because  his  Father  willed  it, 
now  presents  himself  with  the  greatest  calmness  in 
the  midst  of  the  astonished  multitude,  in  the  presence 
of  his  raging  adversaries,  in  the  temple  or  in  the  mar- 
ket-place, in  obedience  to  that  same  will.  He  seeks 
not  to  hasten  his  hour  ;  but  as  soon  as  that  hour  of 
sorrow  and  shame  has  come,  "  For  this  cause  came 
I  into  the  world,"  he  cries.  If  you  wish  to  know 
what  perfect  obedience  is,  go  and  learn  it  in  the  gar- 
den of  Olivet,  where,  before  drinking  the  cup  of  con- 
demnation, he  uttered  those  words  beyond  which  noth- 
ing can  be  conceived  of  as  the  expression  of  a  sub- 
missive heart,  "  Father,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou 
wilt."  "  Father,  thy  will  be  done."  Forget  not  that 
everything  in  these  sufferings  is  voluntary  ;  that  he 
has  but  to  make  a  sign  in  order  to  change  that  gloomy 
garden  into  an  Eden  of  glory.  And  yet  that  sign  he 
did  not  make  ;  he  remained  in  the  dust,  struggling 
and  groaning,  until  the  armed  band,  led  by  the  traitor, 
seized  upon  him.  He  did  not  make  it,  because  he  had 
said,  "  Father,  thy  will  be  done,"  and  the  Father's  will 
extended  even  to  the  sacrifice  on  Golgotha.     He  was 


248  THE   REDEEMER. 

obedient  even  unto  the  cross  1     Can  obedience  possi- 
bly go  farther  ? 

If  self-renunciation  is  expressed  first  by  humility  and 
obedience,  it  is  manifested  also,  in  a  very  touching  man- 
ner, by  compassion.  Compassion  is  love  of  the  unfor- 
tunate ;  of  him  from  whom  we  can  derive  no  advantage, 
who  has  nothing  to  give  us  in  exchange  for  our  affec- 
tion. It  is  a  love  truly  gratuitous  and  disinterested. 
Such  was  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  toward  men.  This 
compassion  overflows  from  all  the  words  and  all  the 
acts  of  our  Saviour.  There  is  a  word  in  the  evangelist 
Luke  which  has  always  deeply  moved  me,  and  which, 
in  its  simplicity,  seems  to  me  to  say  more  with  regard 
to  the  compassions  of  Jesus  Christ  than  a  multitude 
of  explanations.  "  Then  drew  near  unto  him  all  the 
publicans  and  sinners  for  to  hear  him."  Luke  xv.  1. 
"What  impelled  them  thus  to  approach  Jesus  Christ  ? 
Whence  came  the  attraction  ?  Surely  it  was  not  the 
hope  of  finding  in  him  a  convenient  indulgence  for 
their  vices.  Never  had  even  a  glimpse  been  caught  of 
like  purity  and  holiness.  And  yet  publicans  and  sin- 
ners pressed  about  him  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
was  accused  of  being  one  of  them.  Ah  !  it  was  up  to 
that  time  they  had  felt  themselves  despised,  repulsed, 
and  harshly  judged.  Here  is  a  being  pure  among  the 
purest,  a  man  perfectly  holy,  who,  far  from  rejecting 
them,  calls  them  near  to  him  and  speaks  to  them  with 
love  !  For  the  first  time  they  are  loved,  loved  notwith- 
standing their  misery,  or  rather  on  account  of  their 
misery.  The  looks  of  Jesus  fall  upon  them  with  an 
inexpressible  and  tender  pity.  Never  had  they  felt 
that  which  they  now  experienced  on  seeing  themselves 


TUE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  249 

welcomed  and  consoled,  after  being  for  so  long  a  time 
the  outcasts  and  the  scorn  of  a  nation  which  only- 
trampled  them  under  foot.  They  had  not  yet  learned 
that  those  who  are  the  last  in  the  judgment  of  selfish- 
ness, which  lives  only  by  taking  advantage  of  one's 
neighbor,  are  the  first  in  the  judgment  of  love,  which 
lives  only  by  freely  yielding  itself  up  for  the  sake  of 
otliers.  Those  preferred  by  genuine  love  are  unfor- 
tunate and  miserable  beings.  The  more  feeble,  for- 
saken, lost,  a  being  is,  the  more  happiness  is  felt  by 
unselfish  love  in  giving  itself  for  him,  the  more  occa- 
sions does  it  find  for  manifesting  itself.  Thus  the 
Son  of  man,  who  was  the  incarnation  of  this  love 
wholly  free,  likened  himself  most  justly  to  the  good 
shepherd  who  leaves  the  ninety  and  nine  sheep  in  the 
fold,  to  seek  the  lost  sheep  in  the  wilderness.  Poor 
sheep  !  he  is  not  worth  the  trouble  of  a  single  effort  to 
find  him  ;  he  is  worth  so  little  compared  with  those 
remaining  in  the  fold,  he  is  so  weak,  he  is  so  far  away, 
he  is  going  to  die.  Thus  selfishness  speaks.  But  that 
which  repels  it  inflames  compassionate  love.  He  is 
miserable,  he  is  weak,  he  is  lost  afar  off;  it  is  for 
that  reason  that  I  love  him,  and  I  shall  go  after  him 
until  I  find  him.  The  objections  of  selfishness  are  the 
arguments  of  charity.  ''  The  Son  of  man  is  come  to 
seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." 

There  is  in  Christ,  as  it  were,  a  rendezvous  for  all 
kinds  of  weakness,  misery,  and  perditions.  You  find 
there  first  the  little  child  ;  his  very  weakness  makes 
him  dear  and  precious  to  the  Redeemer.  Man  sought 
to  put  him  away  from  Christ  ;  but  he  took  him  in  his 
arms.     He  covers  with  his  love,  and  gives  him  that 


250  THE   REDEEMER. 

blessing  which  rests  upon  the  cradles  of  our  new-born 
babes  :  ''  Suffer  them  to  come  unto  me."  At  the 
child's  side  see  the  ignorant,  the  illiterate  man,  whom 
contemptuous  teachers  wished  to  lord  it  over.  Eter- 
nal wisdom  welcojned  them  in  its  tender  pity,  for  it  has 
milk  to  give  those  who  can  not  endure  strong  meat. 
And  near  him  is  the  poor  man.  Long  enough  has  he 
remained  upon  the  threshold  of  the  wicked  rich  man, 
bearing  contempt  and  disdain.  At  length  he  has  met 
with  his  protector  and  his  friend,  and  this  friend  is  his 
God.  The  divine  poor  man  who  traversed  Judsea  with- 
out possessing  anything  desired  to  array  himself  in  pov- 
erty inr  order  to  glorify  it.  He  left  upon  it  as  it  were  a 
luminous  ray  from  his  transit.  He  identified  himself 
with  the  poor  man  ;  in  him  he  suffers  till  the  end  of  the 
world.  He  hungers  and  thirsts  with  him.  The  sick, 
the  palsied,  the  blind,  alike  surround  the  divine  com- 
forter. They  are  his  constant  attendants.  All  suffer- 
ing runs  to  meet  his  footsteps.  Poor  widow,  who  hast 
lost  thine  only  son  ;  Martha  and  Mary,  afflicted  sisters, 
who  buried  your  beloved  brother  three  days  ago,  we 
find  you  also  at  his  side.  How  is  it  that  you  should 
not  be  near  him  ?  Do  we  not  read  in  the  gospel  twice, 
"  Jesus  wept"  ?  He  wept  over  your  sorrow,  he  wept 
with  you.  He  is  just  the  comforter  whom  you  need. 
But  what  !  the  rapacious  publican  dares  to  approach 
him  !  What  !  that  lost  woman,  laden  with  vices,  in- 
famous among  the  most  infamous,  —  she  at  his  feet! 
Shall  we  not  say  with  Simon,  "  Let  her  be  driven  out; 
she  profanes  the  threshold  which  she  has  crossed"  ?  No, 
no  ;  let  us  leave  her  with  the  gentle  Master  !  Where 
would  she  go,  if  you  rejected  her  ?     Has  she  another 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  251 

asyluin  ?  Who  can  say  to  her,  ''  Daughter,  go  in  peace, 
thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee  "  ?  Fear  nothing  ;  if  she  has 
come,  if  she  has  confronted  such  a  shame  in  such  a 
house,  it  is  because  she  has  read  the  heart  of  Jesus; 
she  has  heard  the  summons  of  that  compassionate  love 
which  is  greater  than  every  sin.  She  was  made  for 
Jesus  Christ  ;  I  appeal  to  her  perdition  and  her  repent- 
ance. Jesus  Christ  was  made  for  her  ;  I  appeal 
for  proof  to  his  compassion.  And  thus  he  goes  forth, 
to  employ  the  beautiful  image  of  Scripture,  like  a  king 
in  the  midst  of  the  afflicted,  like  the  peaceful  King  of 
everlasting  consolations;  and  whenever  he  shall  ad- 
vance anew,  whether  it  be  in  a  church  or  in  the  person 
of  a  true  Christian,  that  same  attractive  power  of  pity- 
ing love  shall  be  exercised,  and  there  will  again  be 
seen  that  concourse  of  unfortunates,  of  feeble  folk,  and 
of  lost  beings.  Woe  to  the  churches  and  to  the  Chris- 
tians concerning  whom  it  can  not  be  said,  ''  Publicans 
and  sinners  draw  near  to  them."  It  is  a  proof  that  in 
their  pitying  bosoms  love  is  about  to  become  extinct. 

We  have  merely  touched  upon  the  compassions  of 
Jesus  Christ  ;  they  are  indeed  infinite.  If  it  be  true 
that  they  were  first  directed  toward  the  most  miser- 
able and  the  most  degraded  beings,  not  the  less  were 
they  bestowed  on  the  entire  lost  race  of  man.  In  like 
manner  as  all  men  are  involved  in  the  condemnation, 
so  are  they  involved  in  the  compassions  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Ho  took  pity  not  only  on  publicans  and  sin- 
ners, but  also  on  Pharisees.  Did  ho  not  weep  over 
Jerusalem,  over  all  its  inhabitants,  in  the  chief  rank 
among  whom  were  found  his  enemies  ?  Listen  to 
the   heart-rending  lament  of  his  unheeded   compas- 


252  THE   REDEEMER. 

sion  :  "  0  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  which  killest  the 
prophets,  and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  unto  thee, 
how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children  together 
as  a  hen  doth  gather  her  brood  under  her  wings,  and  ye 
would  not  !  "  Luke  xiii.  34.  It  is  not  over  friends 
that  he  is  weeping,  it  is  over  enemies.  He  has  noth- 
ing but  death  to  expect  from  them  ;  it  matters  not,  he 
loves  them  in  spite  of  themselves,  because  his  love  is 
not  measured  by  that  which  he  may  receive  ;  it  is 
wholly  unselfish.  Upon  the  cross  his  compassion  is 
again  displayed  ;  he  dies  pardoning  his  executioners. 
He  bore  in  his  heart  the  burden  of  all  our  sorrows  ; 
his  compassion  embraced  the  condemned  of  the  whole 
world,  his  pity  caused  it  to  press  upon  him  ;  and  this 
is  the  fearful  weight  which  crushed  him  in  the  dust  of 
Gethsemane. 

But,  my  brethren,  compassion  does  not  suffice;  there 
must  be  consolation  also.  Pity  is  only  complete  when 
it  is  efficacious.  The  compassion  of  Jesus  Christ  always 
resulted  in  deliverance  ;  and  it  is  in  this  respect  that 
we  ought  to  admire  his  life  of  sacrifice  and  suffering, 
which  manifested  inward  renunciation  by  a  renuncia- 
tion of  an  external  kind.  He  went  about,  we  are 
told,  doing  good.  He  knew  neither  fatigue  nor  dan- 
ger when  he  could  console  and  deliver.  He  forgot  his 
hunger  and  his  exhaustion  to  announce  the  kingdom 
of  God  to  a  poor  anguished  soul  ;  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  undergo  all  perils  in  order  to  bring  divine  succor  to 
his  afflicted  friends  in  Bethany.  Nothing  turned  him 
aside  from  doing  good,  not  even  the  announcement 
that  his  mother  and  his  brethren  were  seeking  him. 
He  subordinated  his  natural  affections,  like  the  wants 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  253 

of  his  body,  to  the  fulfillment  of  his  mission  of  love. 
We  feel  that  he  had  given  himself  away  without  res- 
ervation. His  charity  extended  even  to  immolation, 
the  unceasing  immolation  of  himself;  he  regarded  him- 
self, from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  life,  as  the 
holy  victim  of  love.  He  gave  up  not  only  all  his  days, 
not  only  his  hours  of  repose,  not  only  the  hours  in 
which  he  might  have  communed  with  his  family,  but 
also,  when  occasion  required  it,  his  hour  of  prayer, 
that  hour  of  celestial  refreshment,  of  ineffable  com- 
munion with  the  Father.  He  shortened  this  divine  and 
mysterious  intercourse  to  speak  to  those  ignorant  multi- 
tudes who  followed  him  into  retired  places  because  he 
had  miraculously  given  them  bread.  Was  there  ever  a 
self-devotion  comparable  to  his  ?  Be  pleased  to  re- 
mark that  we  have  not  spoken  of  that  sacrifice  which 
sums  up  and  combines  all  others,  of  that  sorrow  of 
sorrows,  of  that  bloody  immolation  in  which  the  most 
terrible  sufferings  of  the  body  are  but  the  feeble  im- 
age of  the  tortures  of  the  soul.  If  charity  consists, 
as  our  text  avers,  in  laying  down  one's  life  for  the 
brethren,  shall  we  not  say,  "  Yes,  we  have  perceived  in 
him  what  love  is,  we  have  learned  it  in  a  manner  to 
forget  never." 

We  have  not  said  all  concerning  the  Saviour's  love. 
His  life  could  be  the  life  of  perfect  love  only  by  add- 
ing joy  to  the  sacrifice  ;  first,  because  a  sacrifice 
offered  in  bitterness  is  illusory,  and,  further,  because 
joy,  a  holy  and  pure  joy,  is  inseparable  from  love. 
This  dilates  the  soul,  renders  it  fruitful,  and  responds 
to  its  highest  wants.  The  communion  of  hearts  in 
love  is  pre-eminently  happiness.     It  may  hence   be 

22 


254  THE  REDEEMER. 

concluded  that  when  joy  is  wanting,  love  is  absent.  It 
is  only  half  sacrifices,  mingled  with  refusal  and  dispute, 
which  leave  sadness  after  them.  Complete  sacrifices, 
proceeding  from  the  surrender  of  self-will,  bring  with 
them  joy  ;  there  is  no  mental  reserve  in  them  ;  they 
consummate  our  union  with  God.  We  know  antece- 
dently that  Jesus  Clirist  has  entered  upon  an  infinite 
joy,  because  his  sacrifice  was  complete  ;  it  is  an  austere 
joy,  sometimes  sorrowful,  but  immortal.^  Vailed  for  a 
time,  it  appears  again  more  vivid  and  more  intense. 
This  joy  consisted  at  first  in  the  consciousness  of  his 
profound  union  with  God.  Although  upon  the  earth, 
he  lived  in  God  ;  spiritually  he  had  not  left  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  he  had  remained  the  only  and  the  eternal 
Son.  To  him  he  referred  all  his  thoughts,  as  all  his 
works.  He  was  one  with  him  while  remaining  at 
the  same  time  subject  to  the  conditions  of  his  human 
existence.  He  showed  us  by  his  example  that  there 
is  no  barrier  between  God  and  us,  and  that  the  life  of 
prayer  is  a  life  in  heaven.  We  may  allowably  repre- 
sent to  our  minds  that  which  our  Saviour  experienced 
when,  after  enduring  an  interview  with  the  perverse 
scribe  who  sought  to  entrap  him  in  his  talk,  or  after 
having  borne  with  the  slowness  of  his  disciples  to  be- 
lieve and  to  understand,  in  the  evening  of  a  hard  day 
of  toil  and  sadness,  he  ascended  the  desert  mountain, 
and  there  poured  out  his  heart,  that  wounded  and 
broken  heart,  into  the  heart  of  the  Father.  What 
joy  can  be  likened  to  the  joy  of  that  divine  effusion, 
of  that  ineffable  communion  ?  It  was  the  consumma- 
tion of  their  mysterious  oneness.     There  was  great 


THE  HOLINESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  255 

joj  even  in  the  sufferings  endured  by  our  Saviour. 
Did  he  not  suffer  in  order  to  fulfill  the  Father's  will  ? 
Were  not  those  sufferings  always  love  ?  And  as  he 
loved  our  poor  humanity,  it  was  not  without  joy  that 
he  suffered  for  it,  for  our  salvation.  With  joy  he  saw 
in  advance  ''  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  ;  "  and  we  doubt 
not  that,  when  he  cried  out,  before  expiring  on  the 
accursed  tree,  "It  is  finished,"  he  experienced  a  vast 
delight  ;  for  condemnation  was  done  away,  sin  van- 
quished, and  God  appeased  !  On  good  grounds,  then, 
could  Jesus  Christ  declare  to  his  disciples,  "  These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  might 
remain  in  you."  It  was  the  perfect  joy  of  perfect 
love. 

Humility,  obedience,  compassion,  dévotement,  im- 
molation, joy  in  sacrifice  itself, — all  these  different 
features  of  charity  as  it  is  manifested  here  below  are 
found  in  Jesus  Christ.  And  if  there  is  any  other 
virtue  to  adore  in  him,  it  is  ultimately  comprehended 
in  love.  His  charity  is  the  bond  of  his  perfections. 
They  spring  from  this  common  foundation  ;  it  is  this 
which  constitutes  their  unity  in  their  diversity.  If 
he  is  gentle,  like  the  lamb  led  dumb  to  the  slaughter, 
and  if  he  is  at  the  same  time  strong  and  formidable, 
the  secret  of  his  gentleness  and  of  his  strength  is  in 
his  love.  Nothing  is  more  gentle  than  love,  and 
nothing  more  invincible  ;  it  is  stronger  than  death. 
It  seeks  nothing  for  itself;  suffering  is  nothing, 
shame  is  not  regarded.  It  desires  neither  its  own 
glory  nor  its  own  profit.  When  it  is  made  to  pass 
through  the  most  terrible  trial,  it  comes  out  of  it 
more  burning  and  more  pure.     Thus  love  explains  all 


256  THE   REDEEMER. 

contrasts  in  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  has  shown 
us  what  charity  is  ;  and,  since  holiness  and  Ioyc  are 
inseparable,  we  may  conclude  that  the  life  of  Jesus 
was  the  life  of  God  in  man. 

Is  there  any  one  in  this  assembly  who  rejects  this 
conclusion?  Can  this  be  so?  Are  there,  then,  two 
human  consciences  ?  What  more  can  you  need  in 
order  to  adore  Jesus  Christ?  Are  you  not  unde- 
ceived with  regard  to  those  hypocritical  virtues  which 
sound  the  trumpet  before  themselves  ?  Are  you  not 
wearied  with  those  lying  heroisms,  those  boisterous 
parades,  the  real  origin  of  which  is  too  well  known  ? 
Does  not  the  holiness  which  is  humble  and  genuine, 
without  show  and  without  dissimulation,  speak  more 
powerfully  to  your  heart  ?  Do  you.  not  feel  that  there 
is  something  beyond  comparison  in  this  life  and  death 
of  Christ,  something  so  pure,  so  great,  so  divine,  so 
ideally  beautiful,  that  a  man  must  either  shut  his 
eyes  in  order  not  to  see  it,  or  must  fall  prostrate  at 
its  feet?  Forget  our  feeble  words,  place  yourselves 
before  his  cross  ;  go  thither  even  with  the  prejudices 
attributed  to  you.  Your  prejudices  can  not  be  nar- 
rower or.  stronger  than  those  of  the  pagan  centurion 
who  was  set  over  the  execution  of  our  Saviour.  Only 
imitate  that  man  :  for  a  few  moments  he  contemplated 
the  holy  victim,  and  scarcely  had  he  contemplated 
him  when  he  smote  upon  his  breast  ;  he  was  a 
Christian.  So  much  gentleness,  so  much  calmness, 
in  the  midst  of  such  sufferings  !  Words  of  forgiv  > 
ness  to  his  enemies  !  No,  this  is  not  from  a  man,  or 
that  man  is  a  God.  Forget  also  your  past,  your  past 
as  philosopher,  disputer,  and  mocker.     Contemplate, 


THE  HOLIKESS   OF  JESUS   CHRIST.  257 

contemplate  Jesus  dying.  One  hour  in  good  faith 
with  the  cross  before  your  eyes  !  We  ask  no  more. 
We  know  that,  if  you  do  not  enforce  silence  upon 
your  conscience,  it  will  repeat  the  centurion's  cry  ; 
and  were  it  to  be  still,  the  very  stones  would  cry  out, 
Yes,  this  man  was  a  God. 

How  precious  is  it  for  us  Christians,  0  my  Saviour, 
in  this  sad  world  of  sin  and  defilement,  to  have  in 
thee  the  type  of  all  that  which  is  good  and  beautiful  ! 
What  consolation  for  the  soul  bruised  by  so  many 
base  and  miserable  acts,  even  on  the  part  of  the  best 
of  mortals,  to  repose  itself  in  adoration  of  thee  ! 
What  joy,  when  the  heart  has  had  experience  of  de- 
ceit, or  has  made  some  mournful  discovery,  to  behold 
thee  with  steadfast  gaze,  perfectly  assured  that  from 
the  Holy  One  no  deceit  can  ever  proceed  !  What 
grace  in  being  enabled  to  say  to  one's  self.  This  per- 
fection of  niy  Saviour,  far  from  leading  me  to  despair, 
should  inspire  in  me  the  sweetest  confidence,  for  it  is 
the  principle  of  my  salvation,  the  pledge  of  my  recon- 
ciliation to  God,  while  it  is  also  the  law  of  my  con- 
science, and  amid  the  blessedness  of  eternity  it  will 
be  fully  imparted  to  me.  "  We  shall  be  like  him," 
says  St.  John,  "  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is."  What 
a  hope,  my  brethren,  and  how  can  we  refrain  from 
exclaiming  with  the  same  apostle,  "  Let  him  who  hath 
this  hope  purify  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure  !  " 
22* 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

JESUS    CHRIST   AS    PROPHET. 


THE    TEACHING    OP    JESUS     CHRIST. 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man,"  —  John  vii.  46. 

AFTER  having  considered  the  nature,  the  plan,  and 
the  holiness  of  the  Redeemer,  after  having  con- 
sidered what  he  was,  what  he  sought  to  accomplish, 
and  the  spirit  in  which  he  finished  his  work,  it  remains 
for  us  to  unroll  this  great  work  itself  before  your  eyes, 
in  order  fully  to  apprehend  its  unity  and  its  greatness. 
It  is  common  to  divide  it  into  three  parts,  correspond- 
ing to  the  three  great  institutions  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion,—  prophecy,  priesthood,  and  kingship.  In  Jesus 
Christ  we  first  contemplate  the  prophet,  then  the  priest, 
and,  finally,  the  king.  We  accept  this  division  of  the 
great  subject  before  us  ;  it  is  based  upon  important  truth, 
upon  the  profound  harmony  existing  between  the  old 
and  new  dispensations.  The  desire  for  salvation  was 
expressed  in  all  the  institutions  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion. In  the  new  dispensation  this  desire  has  been 
perfectly  realized.  The  Redeemer  is  the  bond  of  both 
covenants  ;  all  that  can  set  forth  this  peculiarity  of  his 
mission  redounds  to  his  glory.     This  threefold  divis- 

258 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  259 

ion  of  his  work  is  not,  therefore,  one  of  those  arbi- 
trary and  scholastic  divisions  which  break  up  the 
truth  into  fragments,  and  which  deprive  it,  at  tlie  same 
time,  of  its  unity  and  its  living  reality.  First,  the  Word 
was  about  to  manifest  himself  to  the  world,  to  reveal 
himself  by  means  of  speech.  Hence  his  prophetic 
work.  The  Word  was  to  offer  the  sacrifice  of  redemp- 
tion. Hence  his  work  as  priest.  In  this  very  sacri- 
fice he  was  to  triumph  over  sin  and  over  death.  Hence 
his  kingship.  We  can  not  in  him  separate  the  prophet 
from  the  victim,  nor  the  victim  from  the  king.  If  he 
is  only  a  prophet,  he  has  not  closed  the  cycle  of  the 
forerunners  of  the  Messiah.  If  he  is  only  a  victim,  if 
his  sacrifice  did  not  terminate  in  his  kingship,  it  is 
without  efficacy.  And  if  he  was  no  more  than  a  king, 
the  race  of  Adam  would  still  lie  under  the  condemna- 
tion. According  to  the  magnificent  observation  of 
Bossuet,  it  is  his  blood  in  which  he  must  gather  up 
his  crown.  We  shall  consider  in  their  order  these 
three  parts  of  the.  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  To-day  we 
confine  ourselves  to  the  Messiah's  prophetical  work. 
We  shall  first  show  its  necessity. 

The  duty  of  the  prophet,  under  the  old  dispensation, 
was  not  restricted  to  prophecy  properly  so  called  ;  the 
prophet  was  the  great  witness  for  the  truth,  the  re- 
vealer  of  God.  It  is  in  this  sense  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
a  prophet.  If  he  had  not  communicated  the  deep  im- 
port of  his  work  in  positive  teachings,  his  work  would 
not  have  been  imderstood.  For  it  may  be  said  that 
in  every  important  fact  there  is  a  soul  and  a  body. 
The  body  is  tlijg  fact  taken  in  itself,  separately  and 
alone  ;   the  soul  is  its  meaning,  its  scope,  its  spirit. 


260  THE   REDEEMER. 

The  body,  the  flesh,  the  averring  of  the  fact,  is  of  no  ' 
value.  It  is  the  spirit  which  avails.  But  only  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  could  separate  the  spirit,  the 
soul,  the  profound  import  of  the  event,  from  the  event 
itself.  The  crucifixion  of  an  innocent  person  was  not 
a  thing  so  strange  and  so  new  in  the  ancient  world. 
In  order  to  see  a  redemption  in  this,  the  exterior  vail 
must  be  pierced  through  by  the  mind  ;  and  to  effect  this, 
I  repeat  it,  the  teaching  of  Christ  was  necessary. 

This  teaching,  need  I  say,  is  as  wonderful  as  the 
Redeemer's  person.  It  exhibits  the  same  contrasts, 
the  same  greatness  in  humility,  the  same  depth  in  sim- 
plicity. It  is  the  only  teaching  which  is  truly  fruitful, 
ever  new,  and  ever  inexliaustible.  For  eighteen  cen- 
turies the  church  has  been  bending  over  this  word  of 
the  Master,  over  the  few  pages  which  have  preserved 
it  to  us,  with  an  ardent  desire  to  see  its  depths,  and  to 
seize  its  ultimate  import.  Men  of  the  noblest  genius 
and  the  greatest  saints  have  meditated  this  word,  and 
it  has  always  spread  beyond  them,  and  they  could  not 
apprehend  all  its  fullness.  Many  systems  have  been 
constructed,  many  formularies  have  been  drawn  up. 
In  these,  as  men  have  sometimes  imagined,  they 
inclosed  this  divine  teaching  ;  but,  each  in  its  turn, 
they  have  all  been  broken  and  consumed.  And  yet 
this  teaching,  with  all  its  endless  riches,  is  much  more 
simple  than  all  the  imperfect  images  of  it  which  have 
been  set  before  us.  The  most  learned  and  pious  the- 
ology whieh  has  entered  into  the  labor  of  centuries 
can  not  exhaust  this  teaching,  and  the  humblest  be- 
liever, even  the  merest  child,  when  he  Uears  it  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Master,  is  penetrated  and  moved  by  it. 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  261 

Why  is  it  that  men  so  often  place  themselves  between 
the  divine  Teacher  and  iis  ?  Why  are  the  most  inde- 
pendent minds  so  frequently  seen  manifesting  a  spirit 
of  servility  in  this  respect,  and  accepting  as  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ  that  which  is  but  a  lamentable 
perversion  of  his  teaching  ?  How  few  are  they  who 
have  truly  listened  to  the  Master  in  his  own  cause, 
and  who  are  not  content  to  receive  certain  ecclesi- 
astical or  theological  traditions  !  It  is  the  fact  that 
the  greater  part  of  mankind  have  read  only  a  transla- 
tion of  the  gospel,  —  I  am  not  speaking  of  words,  but 
of  thoughts.  The  gospel  is  constantly  coming  into 
our  hands  translated,  enfeebled,  transformed  by  hu- 
man theology.  And  it  is  because  they  will  not  go 
back  to  the  original,  because  they  will  not  read 
it  in  good  faith  and  with  simplicity,  and  not  by  the 
light  of  particular  doctrines  that  belittle  and  pervert 
it,  that  the  Christian  system  is  to-day  still  rejected  by 
so  many  sober  and  earnest  minds.  They  fancy  that 
they  have  intelligently  decided  against  it,  but  in  truth 
they  have  not  even  discerned  it  in  its  divine  beauty. 
Might  it  please  God  to  enable  us  to  dissipate,  in  regard 
to  many,  this  deplorable  misconception,  by  faithfully 
presenting  to  them  the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  ! 

This  subject  contains,  also,  a  precious  admonition 
for  you.  Christians.  You  are  called  upon  to  glorify 
the  gospel  by  your  testimony.  You  are  therefore 
called  upon  to  teach  as  Christ  taught.  Learn  of  him 
how  a  man  can  be  a  perfect  witness  for  the  gospel  ; 
learn  where  lies  hidden  the  nerve  of  Christian  speech, 
and  in  what  manner,  under  relations  the  most  diverse, 
— whether  condemnation  or  comfort,  conflict  or  persua- 


262  THE   REDEEMER. 

sion,  pathos  or  terror,  be  required,  —  the  truth  may- 
be wielded  most  wortliily  and  effectually. 
I  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  This  was 
said  of  Jesus  Christ,  even  by  his  enemies.  Nothing 
could  mor^;  plainly  prove  that  his  teaching  is  perfect, 
like  his  life.  We  shall  examine  it  both  with  regard 
to  its  object  and  its  form,  and  will  show  you,  in  this 
double  point  of  view,  that  never  man  taught,  never 
man  spoke,  like  Jesus  Christ. 

^  There  is  a  sense  in  which,  first  of  all,  Jesus  Christ 
taught  as  man  never  teaches.  His  teaching  is  dis- 
tinguishable from  all  others  in  that  he  was  himself  the 
object  of  his  teaching.  A  master,  a  teacher,  were  he 
the  greatest  of  all,  holds  forth  truth,  but  he  is  not 
truth.  He  points  out  the  way  to  it,  he  leads  one  to 
feel  in  advance  the  efficacy  of  truth.  Jesus  Christ 
alone  could  say,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
life."  It  is  one  of  the  strangest  words  that  ever  pro- 
ceeded from  his  mouth,  one  of  the  most  mysterious, 
and  also  one  of  the  most  characteristic./  That  man 
has  understood  nothing  of  Christianity  who,  in  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  seeking  for  anything  but 
Christ  himself,  and  who  asks  of  him  a  doctrine  or 
truth  of  which  Christ  is  not  the  substance,  but  simply 
the  witness.  I  know  well  that  this  identification  of 
Christianity  with  Jesus  Christ  has  been  abused  some- 
times, and  men  have  made  use  of  it  in  order  to  reduce 
the  gospel  to  a  powerless  sentimentalism,  or  to  an  en- 
ervated mysticism,  and  in  order  to  set  themselves 
against  a  clear  and  positive  exhibition  of  the  law. 
But  everything  depends  on  the  manner  in  which  the 
Saviour  is  contemplated.     If  only  vague  ideas  are  en- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  263 

tertained  with  regard  to  his  person,  if  men  see  in  his 
person  nothing  but  a  bare  ideal  of  human  nature,  if 
his  redemptive  work  is  rejected,  it  is  in  vain  to  pre- 
tend that  everything  is  made  to  rest  upon  him  as  the 
foundation  ;  such  will  build  upon  a  cloud,  because  they 
build  not  truly  upon  Jesus  Christ.  We  freely  admit 
that  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  may  be  lavishly  em- 
ployed, while  men  at  the  same  time  are  laboring 
against  him,  and  in  ignorance  of  him.  It  is  not 
enough  to  have  for  him  a  certain  attraction  of  the 
heart.  That  attraction  can  exist  without  the  posses- 
sion of  true  faith,  because  it  may  be  so  confused,  so 
intermingled  with  other  things,  as  in  no  respect  to  re- 
semble a  firm  and  assured  belief.  The  apostles  experi- 
enced this  attraction  even  before  they  understood  the 
work  of  their  Master,  before  they  were  converted.  St. 
John,  leaning  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus,  during  the  sol- 
emn passover  feast,  felt  it  in  the  highest  degree  ;  and 
yet  at  that  very  hour  he  had  not  a  sufficing  faith,  a 
faith  enlightened  and  abiding.  It  was  a  precious  be- 
ginning ;  it  was  the  germinant  point  of  a  really  strong 
and  living  belief,  but  it  was  nothing  more.  There 
would  be  danger,  then,  in  affirming  in  terms  too  gen- 
eral that  one's  relation  to  Jesus  Christ  constitutes  the 
whole  of  religion.  It  ought  to  be  understood,  and 
clearly  set  forth,  that  this  relation  to  Christ  does  not 
consist  merely  in  the  soul's  being  drawn  to  him,  but 
there  is  also  implied  in  it  the  conscious  acceptance  of 
the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

With  this  reservation,  we  maintain  that  Christianity 
exists  entirely  in  Jesus  Christ  ;  we  maintain  that,  out- 
side of  his  person,  there  exist  no  Christian  dogmatics. 


264  ■  THE  REDEEMER. 

His  person  is  itself  our  dogmatic  system.  He  taught 
no  other,  nor  did  his  apostles.  Apostolic  teaching 
was  nothing  else  but  the  reproduction,  or  the  inspired 
interpretation,  of  Christ's  teaching,  *and  Christ's  teach- 
ing had  no  other  object  than  himself.  Christianity  is, 
first  of  all,  neither  a  doctrine  nor  a  book  ;  it  is  a  fact, 
or  rather  it  is  a  person.  This  sacred  Person  is  known 
only  through  the  inspired  Book  ;  doctrine  is  his  image 
formed  in  the  understanding  ;  but,  antecedently  to  the 
Book  and  to  the  doctrine,  there  exists  the  living 
reality.  Without  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  it  is 
impossible  to  know  Christ  ;  without  doctrine  we  can 
not  arrive  at  precision  of  belief.  The  apostolic  testi- 
mony and  the  doctrine  are  indispensable  in  our  view  ; 
therein  we  see  the  sacred  vessel  which  contains  within 
it  the  divine  treasure.  But  the  vessel  is  not  the  treas- 
ure ;  the  treasure  is  not  the  vessel  ;  the  container  is 
not  the  thing  contained;  Christianity  is  not  essentially 
a  compound  of  holy  oracles,  or  a  divine  theology  a 
dogmatic  system.  Or,  if  it  is  a  theology,  it  is  not  one 
after  the  manner  of  men,  but  after  the  manner  of  God: 
the  theology  of  men  is  a  laborious  concatenation  of 
ideas  and  words  respecting  God  ;  the  theology  of  God 
is  his  own  Word  concerning  himself,  a  living  and  oper- 
ative Word,  the  Word  that  became  flesh.  "  The  mys- 
tery of  godliness  is  great,"  says  St.  Paul  ;  "  God  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of 
angels,  preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the 
world,  received  up  into  glory."  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  Such 
is  the  divine  theology.  It  is  this  which  enabled  Jesus 
Christ  to  say,  "  I  am  the  truth."  Show  us  a  single 
truth  which  is  not  connected  in  the  most  natural  way 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  265 

with  this  living  truth.  The  two  terms  of  the  religious 
problem  are  God  and  man.  To  know  these,  to  know 
their  true  relations,  is  to  know  all  religious  truth. 
"  Show  us  the  Father,"  said  an  apostle  to  Jesus  Christ  ; 
and  the  Master  answered,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath 
seen  the  Father."  All  that  we  can  know  concerning 
God  Jesus  Christ  has  taught  us,  or  rather  he  has  shown  / 
it  to  us.  The  Father  was  in  him.  All  his  perfections,  * 
his  righteousness,  his  holiness,  his  power,  shone  forth 
in  his  person  with  softened  rays,  and  his  love  had 
never  assumed  a  sublimer  manifestation.  In  like 
manner  the  Son  represented  the  Father's  works  ;  the 
creation  of  the  world,  and  all  the  series  of  divine  reve- 
lations, were  attributable  to  him  as  being  eminently 
the  organ  of  Omnipotence.  Thus  all  which  we  have 
need  to  know  respecting  man,  his  true  nature,  his  high 
destiny,  we  perceive  in  Him  who  was  perfect  man. 
Not  only  does  he  teach  us  to  know  God  and  man,  he 
moreover  reveals  to  us  their  true  relations.  Is  he  not 
the  mediator  between  humanity  and  its  Creator  ?  On  t 
the  one  hand,  by  the  very  fact  of  mediation,  he  mani-  | 
fests  man's  fall  and  man's  inability  to  save  himself; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  teaches  the  world  the  Fa- 
ther's love,  who  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  Son, 
in  order  that  whosoever  should  believe  on  him  might 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life.  What  can  we  know 
with  regard  to  the  work  of  salvation  that  is  not  di- 
rectly connected  with  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ? 
He  was  made  unto  us,  says  the  apostle,  wisdom,  right- \ 
eousness,  sanctification,  and  redemption.  To  take  up  1 
one  of  the  specifications  in  this  passage,  do  we  not  see 
that  Christian  morality,  by  means  of  sanctification,  is 

23 


266  THE   REDEEMER. 

to  be  wholly  referred  to  him  ?  And  with  respect  to 
that  which  concerns  the  future,  does  not  all  depend 
upon  him  ?  Is  it  not  he  who  shall  raise  the  dead, 
judge  the  world  in  righteousness,  and  lead  his  own  to 
glory  ?     Is  it  not  he,  finally,  who  has  promised  and 

\  given  us  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Sin,  grace,  redemption,  holi- 
ness, resurrection,  judgment,  —  have  all  these  divine 

I  doctrines  any  meaning  apart  from  Christ?  Are  we 
not  authorized  to  say  with  St.  Paul,  "  I  determined 
not  to  know  anything  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified;"  with  St.  John,  "He  that  hath 
the  Son  hath  life  ;"  and  with  the  Son  himself,  "He 
who  believeth  in  me  shall  not  perish"?  We  must 
not  only  believe  what  he  teaches,  but  also  believe  in 
him.  His  teaching  is,  after  all,  but  the  imprinted  im- 
age of  his  person,  as  it  is  the  image  of  his  Father. 
Let  us  take  heed  that  our  abstractions  do  not  dry  up 
this  living  instruction.  Let  us  fear  that  this  living 
water,  through  our  fault,  be  changed  into  ice,  and 
become  like  a  solid  crystal,  shaped  into  forms  rigidly 
fixed  and  symmetrical. ^  Let  us  remember  that  every 
doctrine  isolated  from  Jesus  Christ  is  by  that  very  act 
smitten  with  barrenness,  and  that  the  Christian  teach- 
ing which  is  not  a  communication  of  Christ  loses  its 
proper  character,  and  is  nothing  more  than  a  human 
philosophy.  Let  us  not,  by  adopting  any  new  kind  of 
scholasticism,  give  stones  for  bread  to  famished  souls, 
and  let  us  remember  that  the  bread  which  nourishes 
to-day,  as  it  was  eighteen  centuries  ago,  is  the  living 
bread  which  came  down  from  heaven.  Never,  there- 
fore, has  man  spoken  like  this  man,  because  never 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  267 

could  man  present  himself  as  the  truth  in  his  own  per- 
son. 

The  incomparable  excellence  of  Christ's  teaching 
appears,  also,  in  the  form,  in  the  perfect  form,  of  his 
discourse.  In  what  does  this  perfection  consist  ? 
Speech  is  the  revelation  of  the  soul.  It  expresses  the 
different  convictions  of  the  soul.  Speech  would  be 
truly  perfect  if  it  were  a  true  mirror  of  our  thoughts 
and  of  our  impressions,  or  rather  a  reflection  identical 
with  the  beam  from  which  it  darted  forth.  We  can 
ask  nothing  more  from  a  revelation  than  to  repro- 
duce fully  the  hidden  things,  the  knowledge  of  which 
it  seeks  to  impart.  Speech  in  its  relation  to  God  is 
an  eternal  reproduction  of  his  being,  the  imprinted 
image  of  his  person  ;  and  for  that  reason  it  is  perfect, 
like  all  which  proceedeth  from  him.  The  perfection 
of  human  speech  will  be  measured,  then,  by  the 
fidelity  with  which  it  shall  manifest  the  soul  of  man. 
I  say  the  soul,  because  the  question  does  not  here 
mainly  concern  the  thought.  A  man  may  be  en- 
dowed with  the  precious  faculty  of  expressing  his 
ideas  with  eloquence,  of  imparting  to  them  a  pure, 
beautiful,  and  transparent  form,  and  yet  his  speech  be, 
after  all,  but  a  brilliant  lie.  This  is  because  the 
center  of  man's  life  is  not  in  his  understanding,  but 
in  his  heart.  If  our  speech  is  in  disharmony  with 
our  moral  state,  whatever  may  be  its  beauty,  it  is 
counterfeit,  like  counterfeit  coin  ;  it  sounds  hollow, 
so  to  say.  Not  only  is  it  false  and  hypocritical,  but  it 
has  no  worth,  and  ultimately  no  influence.  One 
quickly  perceives,  without  fully  accounting  for  the 
fact,  that  it  is  wanting  in  earnestness.     Thanks  be  to 


268  THE   REDEEMER. 

God,  great  words,  great  expressions,  are  speedily- 
worn  out.  It  is  but  a  thin  vail  wliicli  the  least  wind 
raises  or  rends.  There  is  nothing  truly  powerful  ex- 
cept sincerity.  A  word  perfectly  sincere  is  a  perfect 
word  ;  and  it  is  such  only  when  one  can  say,  Like  word, 
like  life.  Then  each  word  comes  to  us  nourished, 
penetrated  with  the*  inner  sap.  It  is  not  an  empty 
sign,  it  is  a  reality,  a  verb  ;  *  and  although  it  should 
be  devoid  of  elegance  and  harmony,  not  the  less 
would  it  go  on  its  way  and  reach  its  end.  Coming 
from  the  heart,  it  speaks  to  the  heart. 
^J^  If  it  be  thus,  my  brethren,  —  if  sincerity  is  the  seal 
of  perfection  as  respects  human  speech, — it  is  easy  for 
us  to  justify  our  text,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this 
man,"  for  never  was  man  sincere  like  Jesus  Christj 
by  which  we  understand  that  never  did  man  ])lace  his 
word  so  completely  in  harmony  with  his  life.  Jesus 
Christ  lived  out  his  word,  and  spake  out  his  life.  To 
say  that  his  speech  was  sincere,  is  to  say  too  little  ;  for 
there  is  an  absolute  identity  between  his  acts  and  his 
discourse.  His  teaching,  as  well  as  his  works,  depict 
hjna  to  our  eyes.  To  prove  to  you  the  excellence  and 
the  perfection  of  this  teaching,  we  shall  have,  there- 
fore, only  to  exhibit  to  you  the  identity  between  his 
speech  and  his  life.  The  life  of  Jesus  Christ  was  the 
perfect  life  of  charity.  We  shall  show  that  his 
speech  was  the  perfect  language  of  divine  love.-T^ 

We  have  seen  in  our  last  discourse  that  our 
Saviour's  charity  rested  upon  his  humility.  His 
word  was  as  humble  as  his  life.  Never  man  spake 
like  this  man  in  the  particular  of  humility.     Compare 

*  Verbum. 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  269 

the  divine  Master  with  the  doctors  of  his  times. 
They  either  spoke  with  the  tone  of  despotic  authority, 
or  they  wrapped  themselves  up  in  a  pompous  gravity. 
They  spoke,  we  are  told,  from  the  hight  of  Moses' 
seat  :  we  think  we  can  see  them  on  that  elevated  seat, 
holding  the  people  captive  at  their  feet,  binding  on 
them  their  interpretations,  and  presenting  themselves 
as  rigid  guardians  of  tradition.  They  spoke  of  God 
solely  in  holy  places  and  in  consecrated  forms. 
Their  teaching  was  like  their  persons.  Just  as  they 
sought  to  inspire  respect  by  their  long  robes  and  their 
phylacteries,  so  they  strove  to  impress  a  commanding 
dignity  upon  their  speech.  It  also  was  wont  to  trail 
after  it  a  sacerdotal  robQ.  It  reverberated  like  the 
voice  of  the  temple  itself.  What  a  contrast  between 
these  proud  doctors  and  the  lowly  Master  of  Naza- 
reth !  He  did  not  seat  himself  upon  the  benches  of 
the  Jewish  schools.  He  has  not  in  his  favor  the  re- 
pute of  official  titles,  which  always  impart  some  luster 
to  those  who  are  invested  with  them.  He  does  not 
speak  from  the  seat  of  Moses  ;  he  speaks  in  the  mar- 
ket-places, and  in  the  streets,  beside  a  well  of  living 
water,  upon  the  mountain  or  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
wherever  the  multitudes  are  gathered  together.  His 
teaching  does  not  possess  the  majesty  of  a  venerable 
tradition.  It  imposes  itself  upon  no  one  ;  it  renders 
homage  to  the  truth  without  applying  any  pressure  of 
any  kind,  without  assuming  that  accent  of  command 
which  often  by  itself  acts  upon  minds  with  so  great 
power.  What  more  simple  than  his  speech  !  It  is 
stripped  of  every  solemn  form  ;  he  derives  the  pro- 
foundest  instruction  from  the  most  ordinary  incidents 

23* 


270  THE   REDEEMER. 

of  every-day  life  ;  they  are  stamped  with  a  familiarity 
which  can  not  bo  feigned.  Let  us  venture  the  remark, 
no  doctor  has  employed  a  speech  more  laical  than 
that  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
name  of  doctor  could  not  be  applied  to  him.  He 
spoke  as  a  friend  speaks  to  his  friend,  as  a  mother 
speaks  to  her  son,  in  brief  and  striking  words.  '  You 
will  no  more  find  in  him  the  elegance  and  the  dia- 
lectics of  Grecian  teachers  than  the  gravity  of  Jew- 
ish scribes.  Socrates  and  Plato  taught  with  the  most 
exquisite  art  ;  they  did  not  possess  the  magisterial 
authority  of  the  doctors  at  Jerusalem,  and  they  made 
good  the  want  of  it  by  harmony  and  beauty  of 
language,  by  splendor  of  imagery,  and  that  logical 
concatenation  of  thoughts  whose  austere  charm  is 
sensibly  felt  by  the  mind.  There  is  nothing  like  this 
in  the  discourses  of  Jesus  Christ.  To  say  of  him 
that  he  had  eloquence,  would  be  to  shock  Christian 
feeling.  All  premeditation  in  regard  to  form  and 
outward  beauty  is  absolutely  foreign  to  his  speech. 
"  He  hath  not  cried,  nor  lifted  up,  nor  caused  his 
voice  to  be  heard  in  the  streets."  Isaiah  liii.  2.  In 
no  sense  whatever  did  he  consider  effect.  We  may 
say  of  his  teaching,  that  which  the  prophet  said  of 
his  person.  There  is  "  no  form  nor  comeliness  "  in  it. 
Y  The  simplicity  of  his  speech  is  precisely  that  which 
constitutes  its  perfection.  The  organ  of  eternal 
truth,  he  does  not  desire  for  his  teaching  either  out- 
ward authority,  or  priestly  gravity,  or  artistic  beauty. 
By  relying  on  outward  authority,  he  would  admit 
that  his  doctrine  has  need  of  some  outward  aid  in 
order  to  triumph  ;  by  wrapping  it  up  in  solemn  forms, 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   PROPHET.  271 

he  would  lead  us  to  doubt  of  its  intrinsic  worth  ;  by 
seeking  for  it  artistic  .beauty,  by  clothing  it  in  bril- 
liant drapery,  he  would  allow  us  to  think  that  it  does 
not  possess  sufficient  charms  to  win  souls.  No,  it 
was  not  seemly  that  God's  truth  should  enter  the 
world  disguised  and  burdened,  ready  to  strike  those 
who  were  not  fascinated  by  its  borrowed  beauty.  Je- 
sus Christ  knew  that  uii(lLingJBras.^Q  beauti  so 
^^owerful  as  the  truth^  and  he  desired  that  she  should 
appear  alone  in  liis  teaching.  Between  her  and  us  he 
put  no  authority,  no  solemn  forms  of  speech,  no 
pomp  of  oratory.  In  his  word  truth  shines  in  her 
own  native  and  immortal  beauty. 

After  all,  what  can  we  compare  with  Christ's  word  ? 
Notwithstanding  its  simplicity,  does  it  not  surpass  all 
other  speech  ?  Doubtless  you  do  not  find  in  it  the 
brilliant  passages  of  Hebrew  prophecy,  that  splendor 
of  imagery,  and  that  sublime  lyric  character  which 
strike  us  in  Isaiah  and  in  Jeremiah.  But  this  differ- 
ence is  itself  a  part  of  the  perfection  of  Jesus  Christ. 
All  is  equal  and  uniform  in  his  discourses  as  in  his  life  : 
mighty  movements  of  speech  imply  excitement,  the 
ravished  delight  of  a  spirit  borne  away  from  itself. 
He  was  never  beside  himself  :  it  was  enough  for  him 
to  be  himself;  hence  that  speech,  calm,  profound, 
stamped  with  an  august  serenity,  comprehending,  in  a 
word,  a  whole  world  of  thought  and  feeling  ;  hence 
that  sovereign  control  of  his  thought  ;  hence  that 
unique  and  indefinable  nature  of  his  discourses  which 
co'mpels  us  to  say,  as  we  listen  to  him.  It  is  the 
Master  ! 

There  was  still  another  motive  inclining  Jesus  Christ 


272  THE   REDEEMER. 

not  to  imitate  the  doctors  of  his  day.  To  speak  from 
a  hight,  is  to  speak  from  a  distance.  Men  imagine 
that  they  will  be  listened  to  more  attentively  if  they 
place  themselves  at  a  great  distance  from  their  hearers, 
in  an  authoritative  attitude.  It  is  a  great  mistake.  The 
more  simple  your  speech,  the  more  powerful  ;  the 
more  powerful  it  is,  the  more  of  a  sympathizing  char- 
acter will  it  possess,  and  a  happier  adaptation  to  the 
wants  of  your  hearers.  In  proportion  as  one  rises 
higher  in  the  seat  of  the  scribes,  in  that  very  propor- 
tion does  he  separate  himself  from  souls.  Every  new 
step  of  elevation  increases  the  distance  between  you 
and  them  ;  your  teaching  becomes  general,  abstract, 
pompous,  devoid  of  application.  Your  darts__thrown 
from  too  great  a  distance  reach  no  one.  It  is  then  easy 
to  understand  that  Jesus  Christ  should  leave  in  Moses' 
seat  those  cold  doctors  who  had  nothing  to  say  to  poor 
sinners.  He  who  had  a  word  of  eternal  life  to  bring 
to  them  took  good  heed  not  to  ascend  into  that  seat. 
He  spoke  to  man,  mouth  to  mouth,  heart  to  heart,  and 
he  was  understood.  If  Christian  testimony  is  so  often 
shorn  of  its  primitive  force,  let  it  be  well  considered 
that  the  cause  of  this  weakness  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  again  the  witness  has  been  placed  on  that 
lamentable  hight,  as  it  were,  between  heaven  and 
earth.  In  every  imaginable  way  men  have  sought  to 
show  plainly  that  his  was  an  exceptional  character. 
They  have  even  made  use  of  such  symbols  as  were 
best  suited  to  develop  this  deplorable  prejudice  in  the 
minds  of  Christian  people.  A  solemn  vestment  has 
been  given  to  the  witness  of  the  truth  for  the  hour  of 
worship,  in  order  to  invite  him  to  wrap  up  his  speech 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  273 

in  a  similar  vestment.  Academic  language  has  taken 
the  place  of  the  manly  and  resonant  language  of  ear- 
nest conviction.  From  the  cold  hights  of  the  religious 
discourse  to  the  souls  of  the  hearers,  the  distance  was 
so  great  that  Christian  feeling,  which  came,  perhaps, 
with  warmth  from  the  soul  of  the  orator,  had  time  to 
grow  cold  again.  Let  the  preacher  at  length  renounce 
this  elevation,  which  isolates  him  from  men  ;  let  him 
imitate  the  Saviour  ;  let  him  speak  instead  of  preach  ; 
let  men  feel  in  him  a  companion  in  conflict  and  suf- 
fering, rather  than  a  master  and  a  doctor.  For  him,  as 
for  Jesus  Christ,  the  secret  of  power  is  in  simplicity. 
And  when  I  speak  of  simplicity,  I  do  not  mean  negli- 
gence. Noble  and  true  simplicity  is  secured  at  the 
price  of  greater  toil  of  soul  and  of  thought,  and  of  more 
intense  meditation,  than  splendor  of  style  requires.  It 
is  more  difficult  to  furnish  the  substantial  basis  of 
Christian  truth,  than  to  multiply  oratorical  forms  of 
speech.  In  this  respect,  as  in  all  others,  let  us  be  the 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  learn  from  him  that 
humility  in  Christian  witness-bearing  which  is  the 
pledge  of  its  real  authority.  Let  us  rend  our  phylac- 
teries at  the  thought  of  so  many  souls  that  have  need 
of  consolation  ;  let  us  cease  speaking  foreign  tongues  ; 
and  let  us  come  down  from  the  seat  of  Moses  for  ever  ; 
that  is  to  say,  let  us  abandon  chilling  solemnity  and 
sacerdotal  eloquence. 

These  reflections  lead  us  quite  naturally  to  consider 
the  teaching  of  Jesus  Clirist  not  only  in  reference  to  his 
humility,  but  also  his  charity.  These  two  particulars 
are  closely  connected,  as  we  have  perceived  in  speak- 
ing of  the  holiness  of  our  Saviour.     Humility  is  tlie 


274  THE   REDEEMER. 

beginning  or  the  condition  of  love.  The  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  full  of  charity  because  it  was  full  of 
humility.  In  our  last  discourse  we  have  shown  that 
charity  is  especially  characterized  by  compassion,  by 
love  of  the  unfortunate,  the  weak,  and  the  poor.  As 
regards  teaching,  he  is  the  weak  and  the  poor  man 
who  is  without  cultivation,  who  is  rough  and  plain, 
one  of  the  mass  of  men.  The  compassionate  nature 
of  Christ's  teaching  is  shown  in  its  popular  character. 
It  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  great  mul- 
titude, to  the  wants  of  the  ignorant  and  the  -simple. 
The  considerations  which  we  have  already  urged  con- 
cerning the  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  would  alone  suf- 
fice to  establish  the  eminently  popular  character  of 
his  word.  Is  it  not  evident  that  a  doctrine  which  ter- 
minates in  a  divine  history,  and  every  dogma  of  which 
has  its  basis  in  a  fact,  will  be  vastly  more  popular  than 
a  system  drawn  up  and  arranged  in  a  learned  manner  ? 
The  simple  have  need  to  say,  Our  eyes  have  seen,  our 
hands  have  touched  the  truth.  Living  and  incarnate 
truth  alone  can  seize  them  and  win  them.  On  the  one 
hand,  humble  and  unassuming  speech,  divested  of  the 
solemnity  of  forms,  has  more  power  and  authority 
than  any  other,  even  over  cultivated  hearers  ;  much 
more,  then,  shall  it  prevail  with  the  ignorant  and  the 
poor  in  spirit.  To  any  other  teaching  they  would  be 
inaccessible.  The  popular  character  of  our  Lord's 
speech  flows,  then,  directly  from  his  humility. 

That  results,  also,  from  the  fact  that  he  never  ad- 
mitted the  distinction  between  the  profane  and  the 
initiated  which  is  found  invariably  in  the  religions  of 
antiquity  and  in  human  pliilosophies.    It  is  known  that 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  275 

Greek  philosophers  had  two  circles  of  hearers  ;  the 
uninitiated  hearers,  to  whom  they  imparted  only  the  ex- 
ternal side  of  their  system,  and  the  initiated,  to  whom  they 
disclosed  the  depths  of  their  thought.  Much  regard 
was  paid,  in  antiquity ,4o  this  aristocracy  of  intelligence. 
There  is  nothing  resembling  this  in  the  school  of  Jesus 
Christ.  All  those  who  wish  to  listen  to  him,  who  desire 
to  become  his  disciples,  are  alike  made  welcome,  and  to 
all  he  reveals  the  entire  truth.  Those  only  remain  with- 
out who  voluntarily  exclude  themselves,  but  whoever 
draws  nigh  to  him  becomes  his  disciple  ;  the  rudest, 
the  most  uncultivated  man  is  admitted  on  the  same 
footing  with  the  most  intelligent.  The  gentle  Master 
takes  him  by  the  hand  to  lead  him  into  the  sanctuary, 
and,  if  need  be,  he  carries  him  thither  in  his  arms,  as 
the  little  child  that  can  not  .walk  is  carried.  Jesus 
Christ  taught  in  open  day,  without  calculation  and 
without  reticence.  The  doctrine  which  he  teaches  is 
the  monopoly  of  no  caste,  it  is  offered  to  all  men.  He 
has  hidden  nothing  because  he  had  nothing  to  hide  ; 
he  confided  no  secret  to  his  apostles  ;  he  desires  that 
all  which  he  had  spoken  should  be  proclaimed  on  the 
housetops,  because  it  is  all  necessary  to  be  known. 
To  allege  that  certain  men  only  are  initiated  into  the 
greatest  mysteries  of  the  gospel,  to  the  exclusion  of  the 
mass  of  Christian  people  who  are  regarded  as  profane, 
is  overthrowing  the  Christian  economy  ;  it  is  moreover 
giving  men  reason  to  believe  that  the  gospel  is  afraid 
of  light.  Greece  kept  its  mysteries  in  darkness,  and 
it  did  well.  Jesus  Christ  had  nothing  to  withdraw 
from  the  observation  of  any  man  ;  therefore  he  spoke 
openly. 


276  THE   REDEEMER.     ' 

Not  only  did  he  refuse  to  admit  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  profane  and  the  initiated,  but,  furthermore, 
his  thoughts  were  sj^ecially  turned  to  tlid  profane  of 
t'he  ancient  philosophy  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  ignorant  and 
simple  men.  Not  that  he  rejected  cultivated  intellects, 
but  he  knew  that  the  deei>est  wants  of  our  nature  are 
disclosed  with  more  singleness  of  mind  on  the  part  of 
those  who  are  not  able  to  disguise  them  with  the  re- 
finements of  civilization.  To  satisfy  the  soul  of  the 
simple  and  ignorant  man  is  to  satisfy  the  human  -soul 
itself;  what  seizes  it,  touches  it,  convinces  it,  is  very 
certainly  suited  to  the  needs  of  all.  The  doctrine 
which  is  adapted  to  the  poor  is  a  universal  truth,  whilst 
a  doctrine  may  please  the  rich  and  the  learned,  and  be 
only  a  passing  fantasy  of  the  mind.  Jesus  Christ 
would  therefore  speak  to  the  people  without  fear  of 
limiting  his  mission.  Who  did  ever  speak  to  them  as 
the  Saviour  spoke  ?  Who  has  ever  known  so  well  the 
road  to  their  hearts  ?  Who  has  ever  presented  the 
truth  in  à  clearer  and  more  attractive  form  ? 

Be  careful  to  observe  that  in  bringing  the  truth  near 
the  feeblest  intellect  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  appre- 
hended by  it,  Jesus  Christ  took  nothing  from  the  truth 
itself;  he  made  it  undergo  no  change  whatever.  It  is 
very  easy  to  conciliate  the  good-will  of  men  when  their 
prejudices  or  their  errors  are  flattered  ;  but  the  pop- 
ularity bought  at  such  a  price  is  a  betrayal  of  the  cause 
of  God.  ^  Jesus  Christ  never  employed  that  detestable 
system  of  accommodation  which  claims  the  right  of 
using  evil  in  the  service  of  good.  No,  no  ;  he  did  not 
seek  to  gain  a  surreptitious  admission  for  truth  into  the 
heart  of  man,  as  a  traitor  is  slij^ped  into  a  city  in  dis- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  277 

guise  and  under  a  feigned  name.  He  has  shown  us  bj 
his  example  that  the  means  employed  by  us  ought  al- 
ways to  be  worthy  of  the  end  pursued,  that  pious  frauds 
contain  the  worst  impieties,  and  that  truth  can  no  more 
be  served  by  falsehood  than  light  can  be  produced  by 
darkness.  Only  the  most  entire  loyalty  in  spiritual 
things  is  blessed  of  God.  Tricks,  and  even  skill  that  is 
nicely  studied,  offend  him;  the  only  policy  of  the  Chris- 
tian consists  in  having  none.  Nothing  disconcerts  cun- 
ning adversaries  like  perfect  simplicity,  because  this 
can  not  enter  into  their  plans,  and  it  astonishes  them  as 
something  wholly  unlooked  for.  Rectitude  is  so  inher- 
ent in  Christianity  that  the  world  itself  has  understood 
it;  and  therefore,  when  it  has  seen  the  professed  disci- 
ples of  Christ  endeavoring  to  serve  him  in  the  crooked 
paths  of  human  policy,  it  has  manifested  as  lively  an 
indignation  as  if  this  were  the  first  time  that  trickery 
had  appeared  on  the  earth.  It  is  because  cunning, 
when  men  affect  to  place  it  under  the  shelter  of 
Christ's  name,  is  a  thing  so  monstrous  that  even  the 
least  enlightened  conscience  is  bound  to  shudder  at  it. 
Since  our  divine  Master  rejected  all  accommodation 
in  his  teaching,  we  can  explain  its  popular  character 
only  by  the  form  in  which  it  pleased  him  to  set  it 
forth.  He  found  means  always  to  connect  the  truth 
with  some  sentiment,  idea,  or  fact  in  harmony  with  it  ; 
with  skillful  and  delicate  hand  he  ingrafted  it  upon 
the  soul  of  his  hearers,  discerning  with  his  luminous 
vision  its  precise  point  of  contact.  It  sufficed  for  the 
dove,  when  it  left  the  ark,  to  find  one  green  branch 
lifted  out  of  the  waters,  in  order  to  secure  a  resting- 
place  for  itself;  in  like  manner  it  sufficed  the  eternal 

24 


278  THE  REDEEMER. 

truth  which  was  in  Jesus  Christ  to  find  a  single  point 
of  connection  with  the  soul  or  spirit  of  man,  in  order 
to  penetrate  it  and  become  established  within.  •»-  In  the 
midst  of  the  ruins  heaped  up  by  the  Fall,  the  Saviour 
discerned,  at  the  first  glance  of  his  eye,  upon  what 
stone  he  could  rebuild  the  dismantled  edifice.  Thus 
he  constantly  made  appeals  to  conscience,  to  the 
sense  of  sin,  to  the  need  of  deliverance,  to  the  sor- 
row and  the  suffering  inseparable  from  human  life. 
Call  to  mind  the  opening  of  his  sermon  on  the  mount: 
''  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,"  "  Blessed  are  they 
that  mourn,"  "  Blessed  are  they  which  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness."  Poverty  really  felt,  sor- 
row for  sin,  thirst  for  salvation,  were*  found  in  every 
just  and  lowly  soul,  and,  beginning  with  this,  Jesus 
Christ  proceeded  gradually  to  raise  it  to  the  highest 
summits  of  his  doctrine.  4 

He  was  not  satisfied  with  relying  upon  those  gen- 
eral dispositions  more  or  less  common  to  all  well-in- 
tioned  men.  He  knew  that  which  each  one  of  them 
needed  ;  and  he  addressed  to  every  man  precisely  the 
word  that  was  made  for  him.  Run  over  in  your 
minds  the  narrative  given  by  our  evangelists  ;  recall  the 
interviews  with  our  Saviour  in  which  so  many  persons 
participated.  They  belong  to  all  classes,  to  all  posi- 
tions in  society.  Sometimes  tliey  are  members  of  the 
supreme  council  of  the  nation,  like  Nicodemus  ;  some- 
times they  are  fishermen  from  the  Nazarene  lake  ; 
sometimes  they  are  poor  women  ;  sometimes  pa- 
gans ;  sometimes  Jews.  You  will  not  find  one  word 
which  is  not  the  most  touching  word,  i]iQ  most  strik- 
ing that  could  be  pronounced  in  the  given  circum- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   PROPHET.  279 

stances.  It  might  even  be  said  that  the  word  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  colored  with  different  shades  of  expression, 
according  to  the  calling  or  dominant  intent  of  the 
interlocutor,  or  even  according  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  moment.  Is  he  speaking  to  poor  fishermen  at 
the  Lake  of  Nazareth,  ho  employs  an  image  borrowed 
from  their  pursuits:  "Follow  me,  and  I  will  make 
you  fishers  of  men."  Is  he  speaking  to  a  doctor  of 
the  law,  he  keeps  up  an  allusion  to  his  dignity  ;  by 
this  means,  Jesus  gives  him  a  salutary  lesson  of  hu- 
mility :  "  Art  thou  a  master  of  Israel,  and  knowest  not 
these  things  ?"  Is  he  speaking  to  a  great  multitude 
whose  hunger  he  has  satisfied,  he  discourses  to  them 
of  food  which  endureth  unto  everlasting  life.  Does 
he  meet,  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  near  Jacob's  well,  a 
woman  of  Samaria,  he  speaks  to  her  of  the  out-gush- 
ing waters  of  eternal  life,  and  from  this  he  proceeds 
to  address  a  most  earnest  appeal  to  her  conscience. 

Does  he  not  multiply  his  wonderful  parables  for 
the  same  purpose  ?  The  parable  enfolds  the  highest 
teaching  in  the  simplest  narrative  ;  borrowed  from  na- 
ture or  from  daily  life,  it  raises  the  soul,  step  by  step, 
to  the  eternal  laws  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  In  like 
manner  as  God  under  the  old  dispensation,  according 
to  the  familiar  and  touching  image  of  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  led  his  people  gently,  as  one  leads  an  animal 
that  is  descending  into  a  plain,  so  Jesus  Christ  led 
his  hearers  with  all  gentleness,  step  by  step,  over  the 
high  and  steep  declivity  of  truth,  by  means  of  his  par- 
ables. Tlie  sower  going  forth  to  sow,  the  grain  of 
mustard-seed  cast  into  the  ground,  the  leaven  put 
into  the  meal,  good  and  evil  trees  with  their  diverse 


280  THE   REDEEMER. 

fruits,  the  union  of  the  vine  and  the  branches,  be- 
came transparent  symbols  for  his  divine  teachings. 
No  one  of  his  hearers,  after  having  listened  to  him, 
could  contemplate  the  outward  world  without  re-perus- 
ing, as  it  were,  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  Nature  showed 
it  to  them  written  in  lines  too  striking  to  be  forgotten  ; 
and  thus,  instead  of  turning  away  the  soul  from  the 
truth,  nature  constantly  brought  it  back  to  the  truth. 
The  parables  which  possessed  the  special  character  of 
a  narrative  produced  the  same  effect.  At  the  sight  of 
a  flock,  how  fail  to  remember  the  Good  Shepherd  who 
gives  his  life  for  the  sheep  ?  A  father  pressing  his 
children  in  his  arms  would  naturally  think  of  the 
prodigal  son  and  his  forgiveness.  The  workmen 
laboring  in  a  field,  or  in  a  vineyard,  would  remember 
the  parable  of  the  laborers  engaged  at  different  hours 
of  the  day.  From  the  commonest  incidents  of  life 
thought  could  be  lifted  to  God  ;  even  the  relations  of 
debtors  and  creditors  to  each  other  were  transformed 
into  sublime  types. 

No,  never  man  spake  like  this  man,  because  never 
man  has  loved  our  poor  humanity  like  him.  Let  us 
not  deceive  ourselves  in  this  :  it  is  the  love  ol  Jesus. 
Christ  which  inspired  him  with  his  parables  ;  it  is  his 
love  for  souls  which  led  him  so  wonderfully  to  seek 
out  the  spiritual  food  which  each  one  required.  When 
love  does  not  abound  in  the  heart  of  the  witness  for 
the  truth,  he  confines  himself  to  teaching  it  with 
faithfulness,  but  does  not  strive  to  render  it  acceptable 
to  his  brethren  ;  he  does  not  search  out  carefully  their 
different  dispositions  and  their  spiritual  needs.  Is 
not  this,  too,  one  of  the  causes  of  the  little  effect  pro- 


JESUS    CHRIST   AS   PRO  THE  T.  281 

duced  by  our  discourses  ?  Are  they  not  too  general  ? 
Are  they  not  wanting  in  direct  application  ?  When 
we  behold  our  divine  Saviour,  rich  in  all  the  truth  of 
God,  yet  striving  to  present  it  in  the  forms  best 
adapted  to  his  different  hearers,  we  understand  that 
the  portions  of  truth  deposited  with  us  have  but  little 
likelihood  of  winning  hearts  so  long  as  we  present  the 
truth  to  them  naked  and  dry,  and  fail  to  show  the 
tender  solicitude  of  love  in  seeking  out  their  hidden 
wounds  and  pouring  into  them  the  consolations  of  the 
gospel. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  Christ  was  full  of  charity  in 
still  another  sense.  It  was  essentially  creative  and 
productive  for  the  mind  of  his  hearers.  A  master,  a 
doctor,  who  is  not  moved  by  love  for  souls,  who  is 
swayed  by  the  desire  of  controlling  and  constraining 
them,  is  satisfied  when  they  suffer  themselves  to  be 
passively  molded  by  him.  He  does  not  willingly 
tolerate  spontaneity  of  thought  on  the  part  of  his  dis- 
ciples. He  prefers  to  make  captives  of  them  to  adorn 
his  triumph,  and  he  carefully  keeps  them  under  the 
bondage  of  his  system.  Such  was  not  the  method  of 
Jesus  Christ.  He  did  not  set  down  his  doctrine  in 
formal  terms,  like  a  catechism.  It  would  have  been 
easy  for  him  to  do  this,  and  to  secure  from  his  disciples 
the  most  scrupulous  conformity  to  the  letter  of  his 
teachings.  But  the  end  which  he  sought  was  far 
higher  than  this.  He  desired  that  his  doctrine  should 
penetrate  through  them,  that  they  should  possess  a 
profound  comprehension  of  it.  He  therefore  con- 
stantly appealed  to  their  moral  forces.  He  did  not  im- 
mediately impart  the  whole  truth  to  them.     He  par- 

24* 


282  THE   REDEEMER. 

tially  opened  before  their  eyes  the  precious  mine  and 
caused  the  vein  of  pure  gold  to  start  out  of  the  earth  ; 
but  he  did  not  bring  it  all  forth  to  the  light,  because 
he  wished  it  to  be  dug  for  and  handled  by  persevering 
labor.  His  parables  did  not  go  beyond  this  ;  they 
merely  allowed  the  treasure  to  be  seen  dimly.  Those 
who  had  eyes  and  saw  not,  remained  there  ;  they 
waited  on  one  side.  But  those  who  felt  a  sincere  love 
for  the  truth  hastened  to  dig  the  soil  ;  they  quickly 
discovered  unlooked-for  riches,  and  the  efforts  which 
they  had  put  forth  to  appropriate  those  riches  ren- 
dered them  infinitely  more  precious. 

These  considerations  afford  us  a  plausible  explana- 
tion of  that  difficult  passage  in  the  gospel,  in  which 
our  Lord  declares  to  his  disciples  that  he  speaks  in 
parables  in  order  that  the  mass  of  his  hearers  "  seeing 
should  not  see,  and  hearing  should  not  understand." 
Lazy  souls  which  feel  no  desire  after  truth  have  no 
right  to  possess  it.  As  long  as  they  abide  in  this  dis- 
position, truth  hides  itself  from  them,  because  they 
deserve  to  be  chastised  for  their  inert  passiveness  and 
their  shameful  indifference  to  the  most  precious  good. 
If  the  truth  were  imparted  to  them  with  all  its  evi- 
dence it  would  avail  them  nothing.  It  would  be  a 
pearl  cast  before  swine.  The  pearl  is  shown  to  them 
from  afar,  in  order  to  urge  them  to  seek  for  it  ;  they 
must  then  reproach  themselves  alone  if  they  do  not 
gain  it,  for  it  is  offered  to  them  as  to  others.  Whoever, 
seeing  it  shine  afar  off,  has  busied  himself  in  seeking 
for  it,  is  sure  to  find  it.  He  will  find  it  when  he  shall 
have  sold  his  field  ;  that  is,  when  all  shall  be  subordi- 
nated to  this  acquisition.     It  is  a  thousand  times  bet- 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  283 

ter  that  it  be  not  given  to  him  without  demanding  effort 
and  travail  on  his  part,  since  the  sacrifices  made  by 
him  disclose  to  him  its  worth.  Now  he  knows  what 
he  possesses,  and  enjoys  it  the  more  in  proportion  to 
his  greater  toil  in  gaining  it. 

Jesus  Christ  deposited  his  words  in  the  souls  of  his 
disciples,  like  so  many  living  germs  which  should 
grow  therein.  At  first  his  words  go  completely  be- 
yond them.  Often,  by  this  strange  paradoxical  char- 
acter, they  penetrate  their  minds,  as  a  sharp  iron  en- 
ters the  flesh.  More  than  once  they  had  occasion  to 
cry  out,  "  This  is  a  hard  saying:  who  can  hear  it?  " 
But  it  is  precisely  this  hardness  which  fixes  it,  and 
thrusts  it  like  an  arrow  into  the  depths  of  their 
hearts.  The  time  will  come  when  all  which  the  Mas- 
ter said  to  them  will  return  to  their  memories,  as  if 
illumined  with  the  light  of  a  new  day.  It  will  be 
found  that  such  a  word,  which  at  first  aroused  a  vio- 
lent opposition  in  their  minds,  has  imperceptibly  be- 
come, by  its  hidden  power,  under  the  continued  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  expression  of  their  dearest 
convictions.  In  the  communication  of  truth,  Jesus 
Christ  hastened  nothing,  precipitated  nothing.  Bring- 
ing the  new  covenant  into  the  world,  he  did  not  cease 
faithfully  to  observe  the  old.  He  caused  the  abroga- 
tion of  the  Mosaic  system  to  be  perceived  only  in  a 
partial  manner.  As  he  said  himself,  he  did  not  wish 
to  put  the  new  wine  into  old  bottles.  He  wished 
gradually  to  prepare  the  new  vessel,  and  drop  by  drop 
he  poured  the  new  wine  therein.  He  did  not  treat 
the  soul  of  man  and  the  thought  of  man  like  an 
earthen  vessel,  in  which  at  any  moment  the  most 


284  THE   REDEEMER. 

precious  things  can  be  inclosed.  He  desired  to  liave 
a  kind  of  harmony  between  the  vessel  and  the  treas- 
ure. He  did  not  regard  the  living  organs  of  revela- 
tion as  a  piece  of  parchment,  on  which  he  had  only  to 
write  at  once  his  entire  thought.  No  ;  he  waited  pa- 
tiently until  those  poor  G-alilean  fishermen  had  ripened 
in  his  school,  until  they  had  become  developed  and 
spiritualized  by  contact  with  him.  With  what  good- 
ness did  he  not  endure  their  slowness  of  mind  and 
their  feeble  faith  !  With  what  indulgence  did  he  not 
interpret  to  them  the  simplest  parables  !  With  what 
love  did  he  not  correct  their  errors  !  When  we  think 
of  the  suffering  he  must  have  undergone,  as  every  day 
he  gathered  new  proofs  of  the  grossness  of  their  appre- 
hensions and  the  material  nature  of  their  piety,  we 
perceive  in  his  patience  one  of  the  most  touching  mani- 
festations of  his  charity,  especially  when  we  compare 
it  with  the  impatience  continually  manifested  by  us 
when  called  to  confront  prejudice  or  error. 

Finally,  my  brethren,  —  and  I  close  with  that  which 
is  most  evident,  —  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ  was  the  lan- 
guage of  perfect  love,  because  no  one  has  ever  equaled 
Jesus  Christ  as  regards  the  consoling  power  of  his  lan- 
guage. His  word  was  the  ideal  fulfillment  of  that 
command  :  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people."  All 
his  discourses  can  be  summed  up  in  this  one  appeal  : 
"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden." 
He  comforted  humanity  in  general  by  speaking  to  it 
divinely  of  the  Father's  love  :  "  He  that  belie veth  on 
me  hath  everlasting  life."  He  comforted  all  the  af- 
flicted :  "  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn,  for  they  shall 
be  comforted."     He  comforted  repentant  souls  by  say- 


JESUS    CIIBIS'T  AS   PROPHET.  285 

iiig  to  eacli  one  of  them,  "  Go  in  peace,  thy  sins  are 
forgiven  thee."  He  comforted  his  disciples,  his  friends, 
in  those  last  discourses  whose  inimitable  sweetness, 
tender  sadness,  and  divine  depth  can  not  possibly  be 
expressed,  and  in  which  his  whole  heart  seems  to  be 
thrown  open.  Nailed  to  the  cross,  he  still  comforted 
them,  and  his  last  word  was  a  word  of  holy  love  for 
his  mother  and  his  own.  "  Never  man  spake  like  this 
man." 

Having  reached  the  end  of  this  discourse,  I  am  far 
from  having  exhausted  this  vast  subject.  Jesus  Christ 
has  not  only  taught,  he  was  called  also  to  combat  by  his 
word  ;  he  was  set  to  defend  his  doctrine  ;  and  he  has 
given  us  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which  we  ought 
to  defend  the  truth.  We  shall  have,  therefore,  to 
speak  to  you  of  Christ's  apologetics,  and  of  his  miracles, 
which  form  a  part  of  it.  We  shall  recognize  again  in 
this  that  attribute  of  holiness  which  his  teaching  has 
so  signally  revealed. 

"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man,"  because  never 
did  man  speak  like  him  the  language  of  charity.  But 
in  vain  had  he  spoken  this  divine  language  if  he  had  not 
lived  the  holy  life  of  love.  In  the  agreement  between 
his  life  and  his  word,  an  agreement  which  we  have 
shown  to  be  complete,  lies  the  great  power  of  our  Sav- 
iour. Does  not  this  convey  to  us  very  healthful  and  very 
humbling  instruction  ?  Do  we  not  here  find  the  secret 
of  our  weakness  in  dealing  with  the  world  ?  Do  not 
attribute  it  to  external  circumstances.  Do  not  impute 
it  to  our  little  knowledge.  Do  not  seek  for  it  in  the 
imperfect  manner  in  which  we  lisp  the  language  of 
charity.     Witnesses  for  Jesus  Christ,  remember  your 


28^6  .THE   REDEEMER. 

daily  life,  your  falls,  your  unbelieving,  timid,  selfish 
acts.  Your  life  refutes  your  speech  ;  it  never  ceases 
to  contradict  it.  Even  those  who  have  never  seen  you 
receive  from  you  nothing  but  an  ineffectual  testimony. 
There  is  an  indescribable  something  in  the  soul  which 
enables  it  to  discern,  without  having  clear  conscious- 
ness of  the  fact,  whether  a  given  Christian  word  is  or 
is  not  in  disharmony  with  the  life  of  him  who  utters 
it.  There  are  men  whose  inward  history  we  know 
not,  the  clasp  of  whose  hand  imparts  to  us  something 
of  God.  A  word  in  which  there  flows  some  degree  of 
Christian  life  is  immediately  effectual.  Powerlessness 
is  the  punishment  of  religious  talkers.  We  all  are 
talkers  more  or  less.  This  sense  of  merited  weakness 
constitutes  the  great  and  bitter  sorrow  borne  by  the 
ministry  of  the  word.  If  we  had  truly  lived  that 
which  we  speak  from  the  pulpit  ;  if  thy  servants,  0 
my  God  !  were  always  full  of  thee  when  they  came  up 
into  this  place  ;  if  they  had  Christ  in  their  hearts,  as 
upon  their  lips,  with  what  virtue  would  not  thy  word 
be  clothed  !  Alas  !  by  our  want  of  power  we  can  esti- 
mate our  inconsistencies.  This  name  to  live,  this  lav- 
ish use  of  pious  words,  whilst  the  life  is  meager  and 
poor,  —  this  is  the  great  misfortune  of  the  church  in 
our  day.  But,  0  my  God  !  thou  knowest  it,  we  deeply 
groan  under  this  guilt  ;  we  desire  not  to  abide  in  this 
disharmony.  We  would  speak  less  and  act  more. 
Ah  !  that  the  example  of  Him  who  put  all  his  holy  life 
into  his  holy  word  might  convert  us  to  that  perfect  sin- 
cerity which  in  every  age  is  the  hiding  of  the  church's 
power  ! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

JESUS    CHRIST  AS    PROPHET. 


CHRISTS   APOLOGETIC: — THE   SCRIPTURES.  —  MIRA- 
CLES. —  INTERNAL   EVIDENCE. 

John  V.  36-45. 

JESUS  Christ  taught  mankind.  We  showed  in  our 
last  discourse  that  he  taught  .with  that  perfection 
which  pertaineth  only  to  himself.  But  he  did  not 
confine  himself  to  setting  forth  the  truth  of  God. 
He  defended  that  truth,  he  established  it  victoriously, 
notwithstanding  the  strongest  objections.  It  is  im- 
portant for  us  to  gain  an  exact  and  full  idea  of  his 
apologetic.  We  must  know  on  what  basis  the  divine 
Founder  of  man's  ultimate  religion  rested  the  cer- 
tainty of  Christian  truth.  This  is  necessary  for  a 
twofold  purpose  :  whether  to  secure  the  peace  of  our 
own  hearts  and  our  own  thoughts,  or  to  teach  us  how 
to  exhibit  the  gospel  in  its  most  attractive  aspect. 
What  Christian  is  there  who  is  not  acquainted  with 
temptations  to  doubt?  Where  is  the  believer  who 
has  never  perceived  a  cloud  coming  over  his  faith  ? 
Upon  what  unknown  and  ever  cloudless  higlits  does 
he  dwell  ?  We  are  tempted  in  all  things  ;  why 
should  we  not  be  in  our  faith  ?  It  ia  to  be  strength- 
ened by  contest  ;  it  must  manifest  its  inner  power  in 

287 


238  THE   REDEEMER. 

the  collision  of  ideas  the  most  hostile  to  it.  Let  us 
not  ask  that  it  be  spared  contest  ;  this  would  be  ask- 
ing that  it  be  deprived  of  its  triumph,  for  there  is  no 
victory  without  contest  and  without  danger.  More- 
over, it  is  salutary  to  know  that  we  are  vulnerable  at 
every  point,  in  order  to  turn  continually  to  the  divine 
Physician  of  the  soul.  Whatever  may  be  the  value 
of  these  considerations,  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  the 
Christian  is  often  assailed  by  doubt,  and  that  some- 
times a  somber  night  envelops  him  in  its  cold  shad- 
ows, like  those  thick  fogs  which  in  a  moment  darken 
the  sky.  Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  doubt  is  the 
fruit  solely  of  laborious  and  fatiguing  thought,  and 
that  it  is  enough  to  secure  exemption  from  its  at- 
tacks if  one  does  not  stir  the  great  questions  of 
Christian  theology.  Often  in  the  most  blessed  hours 
its  gnawing  is  felt;  it  takes  delight  in  pursuing  us 
when  our  souls  are  opened  to  the  holiest  emotions. 
It  will  occur  in  the  hour  of  prayer  ;  an  impalpable 
vail  will  suddenly  rise  between  us  and  God,  and  it 
will  seem  to  us  that  our  voice  falls  back  into  the  void, 
and  that  no  one  is  listening  to  us.  It  may  be  near 
the  bed  of  death,  or  beside  an  open  grave.  A  horri- 
ble thought  will  cross  us,  —  Is  there  anything  beyond  ? 
Ought  we  not  to  believe  our  eyes  ?  It  will  occur  on 
some  day  of  peculiar  joy,  which  appears  as  a  foretaste 
of  heaven.  In  this  beautiful,  peaceful  Eden  where 
we  dwell  for  a  moment,  we  shall  hear  the  hissing  of 
the  serpent.  We  need,  then,  to  have  an  immediate 
and  victorious  answer.  We  must  know  how  to  im- 
pose silence  on  the  adversary,  for  doubt  is  despair,  is 
helplessness,  is  defeat,  and  would  quickly  prove  ruin 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  289 

if  it  were  not  torn  from  the  heart.  Jesus  Christ  will 
teach  us,  by  his  divine  apologetic,  how  we  can  destroy 
it  by  a  word,  and  regain  the  blessed  assurance  of 
faith.  Our  subject,  therefore,  concerns  all  Christians. 
May  they  seek  in  it  the  consolations  and  the  strength 
which  are  necessary  for  them  !  For  the  hour  of 
doubt  will  strike  sooner  or  later  for  every  man. 

Besides,  my  brethren,  we  have  to  plead  the  great 
cause  of  Jesus  Christ  before  the  world.  We  must 
give  an  account  of  our  faith.  Christianity  was  never 
more  misconceived  than  in  our  days.  I  will  say 
more,  —  never  has  it  been  worse  defended  by  certain 
religious  parties.  That  is  one  of  the  most  serious 
perils  of  the  church  ;  it  is  not  only  attacked  by  anti- 
Christianity,  it  is  still  more  compromised  by  a  spuri- 
ous Christianity.  Unfortunately  there  are  to-day 
men  so  imprudent  or  absurd  as  to  declare  that 
Christ's  doctrine,  in  order  to  its  establishment  or 
propagation,  demands  the  use  of  force.  It  is  the 
same  with  declaring  that  the  cause  of  the  gospel  is 
lost  ;  for  to  have  recourse  to  compulsion  with  regard 
to  a  doctrine  is  to  avow  moral  impotence.  Men 
strike  only  when  they  are  unable  to  answer  ;  and  the 
aid  of  outward  force  is  solicited  only  when  persuasion 
is  given  up  in  despair.  Defenses  of  this  gross  and 
disastrous  kind  would  long  ago  have  ruined  Christi- 
anity, if  it  were  possible  for  our  faults  to  ruin  it. 
We  can  not  disguise  the  fact  that  a  great  number  of 
earnest-minded  men  have  taken  Romanism  at  its 
word,  and  imagine  that  it  is  really  impossible  to 
demonstrate  Christian  truth.  We  shall  bring  them 
back,   my   brethren,  only  by  proving   the    contrarj^ 

25 


290  THE  REDEEMER. 

Never  was  it  more  necessary  for  Christians  to  form  a 
truly  militant  host,  and  all  combined  to  maintain  the 
truth  of  the  gospel.  If  they  rely  for  the  discharge  of 
this  duty  upon  the  few  men  who  seem  more  especially 
called  to  it,  if  the  defense  of  Christianity  becomes  a 
function  of  office,  we  may  regard  the  battle  as  lost  ; 
for  we  have  arrived  at  one  of  those  periods  when,  in 
order  to  defend  the  sacred  soil  intrusted  to  us,  the 
regular  army  will  not  suffice,  when  against  the  em- 
bodied hosts  of  unbelief  we  need  to  summon  into  the 
field  the  entire  body  of  believers.  Let  every. Christian 
learn,  then,  to  wield  the  holy  weapons  of  Christian 
apologetic,  so  that  it  shall  be  fully  understood  that 
the  field  most  suitable  for  us  is  that  of  free  persua- 
sion, and  that  it  is  not  just  to  charge  upon  Christianity 
the  cowardly  discouragement  felt  by  those  who  favor 
religious  persecution  ! 

Perhaps  some  one  of  my  hearers  sees  not  without 
fear  the  attempt  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the 
gospel.  Too  often  a  degree  of  skepticism  is  hidden 
under  the  appearance  of  faith,  and  one  imagines  that 
he  is  laying  more  firmly  the  foundations  of  faith,  be- 
cause he  is  seeking  to  establish  the  incurable  darken- 
ing of  our  understanding.  Doubtless  St.  Paul's 
word  in  regard  to  the  foolishness  of  the  cross  will  be 
urged  against  us.  We  answer,  that  we  fully  admit 
that  foolishness  of  the  cross  ;  we  confess  that  men  do 
not  arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  revelation  by  syllo- 
gisms ;  but  whatever  foolishness  it  may  be  in  this 
point  of  view,  it  is  not  the  less  the  wisdom  of  God  ; 
and  if  it  is  the  wisdom  of  God,  it  follows  that  it  can 
be  demonstrated  to  that  extent  in  which  anything  of 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  291 

God  is  preserved  in  man.  We  must  be  logical  : 
either  declare  that  man  is  no  longer  in  any  sense  the 
child  of  God,  and  then  cease  to  play  a  ridiculous 
farce  in  pretending  to  use  efforts  to  convince  him  ;  in 
silence  wait  for  the  mystic  illumination  of  his  mind  ; 
or  acknowledge  that,  notwithstanding  the  Fall,  there 
is  an  indestructible  relation  between  him  and  God, 
and  then  strive  to  bring  his  soul  into  contact  with 
revelation.  In  other  terms,  say  with  us  that  a  de- 
fense of  Christianity  is  possible  and  is  necessary. 
And  how  can  one  fail  to  be  persuaded  of  this,  when 
the  church  is  seen  from  age  to  age  proving  her  right, 
and  establishing  it  against  the  most  diverse  attacks, 
when  especially  she  receives  the  first  of  her  apologies 
from  the  lips  of  the  Saviour  himself?  He  had  neither 
your  timidity,  nor  your  scruples,  nor  your  fearful  the- 
ology. He  no  more  desired  the  timid  obscurantism 
of  certain  evangelical  Christians  in  our  day,  than  out- 
ward compulsion.  He  said  to  his  cotemporaries,  and 
through  them  to  all  men,  Examine  my  doctrine. 
He  had  confidence  in  the  result  of  such  examination. 
Doubtless  he  did  not  think  that  the  whole  world 
would  adopt  his  teachings.  He  knew  too  well  what 
impure  motives  so  often  shut  the  heart  against  moral 
evidence.  But  he  knew  with  certainty  that  he  had 
given  sufficient  reasons  for  believing  to  well-disposed 
minds.  Let  us  add,  that  his  apologetic  was  popular, 
like  his  teaching,  and  that,  consequently,  he  required 
from  no  one  the  exercise  of  a  blind  faith. 

It  is  time,  my  brethren,  to  consider  this  apologetic 
of  Jesus  in  itself.  The  text  which  I  have  selected 
presents  it  to  us  in  its  essential  characteristics.     The 


292  THE   REDEEMER. 

words  related  to  us  by  St.  John  were  uttered  in  con- 
nection witli  tlie  first  discussion  between  our  Lord  and 
the  Jews.  The  question  controverted  between  them 
was  precisely  the  great  question  in  every  defense  of 
Christianity,  —  Was  Jesus  Christ,  yea  or  nay,  the 
Messiah,  the  Redeemer,  the  Son  of  God  ?  This  ques- 
tion cleared  up,  and  all  others  are  settled  at  the  same 
time.  This  is  the  question  ;  between  unbelief  and 
the  church  there  is  no  other,  or  at  least  all  others  flow 
from  this.  Jesus  Christ  establishes  his  divine  mission 
against  opposers  by  a  collection  of  proofs  which  can 
not  be  too  highly  admired.  He  shows  it  by  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Scriptures  :  "■  Search  the  Scriptures  ; 
they  testify  of  me."  He  appeals  to  his  miracles  :  "  The 
works  that  I  do  bear  witness  of  me  that  the  Father  hath 
sent  me."  And,  finally,  he  appeals  to  the  souls  of  his 
hearers  :  ^'  How  can  ye  believe  which  receive  honor 
one  of  another  ?  "  These  proofs,  we  say,  are  admi- 
rable, because,  in  the  first  place,  they  are  derived  from 
the  very  nature  of  Christianity.  Jesus  Christ  does 
not  demonstrate  it  as  men  demonstrate  a  simple  fact 
in  science  or  history,  or  a  philosophical  doctrine,  or  a 
mathematical  problem.  His  demonstration  is  wonder- 
fully adapted  to  his  purpose.  He  traces  and  defines 
the  true  field  of  religious  discussion.  His  apologetic 
is  furthermore  admirable  in  not  being  exclusive.  He 
confines  himself  neither  to  external  evidence  nor  to 
internal  evidence.  He  embraces  them  both  ;  he  over- 
looks no  means  of  penetrating  into  the  besieged  place. 
Ho  begins  by  seizing  upon  the  outward  inclosUre,  by 
means  of  the  historical  evidence  ;  but  he  goes  farther  : 
he  crosses  this  ;  he  stops  only  when  he  has  reached  the 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   PROPHET.  293 

citadel.  He  is  not  satisfied  with  becoming  master  of 
the  house  in  which  the  strong  man  dwells.  He  ties 
him,  he  puts  chains  upon  him.  To  speak  without  a 
figvire,  he  moves  and  convinces  the  mind,  but  believes 
himself  to  have  accomplished  nothing  so  long  as  he 
has  not  reached  the  heart  with  his  words.  The  Scrip- 
tural proof,  the  evidence  drawn  from  miracles,  appear 
to  him  necessary,  but  insufficient,  and  he  crowns  them 
with  the  moral  proof,  which  drives  the  adversary  into 
his  stronghold,  into  his  innermost  defense,  and  con- 
verts a  captive  and  vanquished  man  into  a  willing  ally  ; 
that  is  to  say,  a  believer  and  a  disciple.  More  than 
this,  the  moral  argument  is  exhibited  to  us  as  the 
necessary  auxiliary  of  the  Scriptural  argument  and  the 
argument  drawn  from  miracles, 

Jesus  Christ,  first  of  all,  rested  upon  the  Scriptures. 
This  kind  of  argument  could  not  be  employed  in  the 
same  manner  with  Jews  and  with  Gentiles.  The  former 
admitted  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  it 
sufficed  to  deduce  from  this  sacred  premise  the  legiti- 
mate consequences  ;  the  latter  did  not  believe  in  the 
holy  oracles,  and  it  was  necessary  to  establish  their 
divine  character,  if  any  conclusion  whatever  was  to  be 
drawn  from  them.  We  perceive,  then,  that  the  Scrip- 
tural argument  is  more  or  less  modified  according  to 
the  different  cases  to  which  it  is  applied.  Let  us  first 
consider  the  manner  in  which  the  Saviour  presented 
it  to  the  Jews.  This  side  of  his  apologetic  concerns 
all  those  who  receive  the  biblical  revelation  as  a  whole. 
"  The  Scriptures  testify  of  me,"  says  Jesus  Christ.  If 
these  Scriptures  contain  the  word  of  God,  as  you  be- 
lieve, is  it  not  evident  that  their  testimony  is  decisive, 

25* 


294  THE   REDEEMER. 

and  that  if  it  is  in  my  favor  they  completely  demon- 
strate my  divine  mission  ?  Search,  then,  now,  from 
the  first  page  to  the  last,  and  you  will  perceive  that 
throughout  they  have  had  me  in  view.  There  is  not 
a  promise  which  does  not  concern  me,  not  a  revelation 
of  which  I  am  not  the  end  and  the  fulfillment.  It  is 
written,  "  In  the  Lord  shall  all  the  seed  of  Israel  be  jus- 
tified, and  shall  glory."  Isa.  xlv.  25.  Who  thus  far  hath 
realized  for  us  this  hope  of  restoration,  glory,  and  hap- 
piness ?  It  must  needs  be  that  some  one  should  come 
to  keep  this  promise,  which  is  substantially  the  prom- 
ise of  salvation.  Here  am  I  to  fulfill  it.  It  is  written, 
"  He  shall  grow  up  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground.  He 
hath  no  form  nor  comeliness."  Isa.  liii.  2.  Do  you 
not  here  recognize  that  which  every  day  you  despise 
in  me  ?  and  does  not  the  scorn  with  which  you  cover 
me  become  the  seal  of  my  Messianic  dignity,  since 
it  was  announced  beforehand  by  the  prophets  ?  It  is 
written,  "  Behold  my  servant.  He  shall  not  cry.  A 
bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax 
shall  he  not  quench  :  hé  shall  bring  forth  judgment 
unto  truth."  Isa.  xlii.  1,  2,  3.  Who  before  me  has 
united  this  gentleness  and  this  holiness,  such  judgment 
with  such  compassion  ?  It  is  written,  "■  The  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me  ;  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek  ; 
he  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted."  Isa. 
Ixii.  1.  Around  whom  gather  the  poor,  the  sick,  and 
the  afflicted,  if  not  around  me  ?  Upon  whom  as  upon 
me  has  rested  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  the  spirit  of 
power,  promised  to  the  Messiah  ?  Spirit  of  wisdom  ! 
I  call  to  witness  the  crowds  that  hung  upon  my  lips  to 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   PROPHET.  295 

gather  up  my  words.  Spirit  of  power  !  I  call  to  wit- 
ness, to  use  the  language  of  the  prophet,  the  lame  man 
leaping  like  a  deer,  the  blind  recovering  his  sight,  and 
the  deaf  man  his  hearing.  You  will  read  over  by  a 
new  light  the  mysterious  words  that  speak  of  my  suf- 
ferings :  "  The  Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up."  Finally, 
the  last  of  your  prophets,  he  who  brought  to  you  a  liv- 
ing echo  of  the  revelation,  that  had  been  silent  for  so 
many  ages,  did  he  not  say,  in  the  name  of  all  your 
saints  and  of  all  your  seers,  "  Behold  him  who  should 
come  "  ?  Take  out  of  your  Scriptures  my  person,  and 
they  have  no  longer  any  meaning  ;  they  are  but  scat- 
tered torches  they  are  blown  about  by  the  wind,  like 
the  dried  leaves  of  a  dead  tree.  I  am  the  bond  which 
forms  these  into  an  harmonious  whole.  They  com- 
pose, as  it  were,  a  chorus  of  witnesses  that  have  sung 
my  praises,  and  whose  imposing  unanimity  marks  me 
out  for  your  adoration,  "  It  is  your  Scriptures  that 
testify  of  me."  A 

Such  was  the  Scriptural  proof  exhibited  to  the  Jews. 
And  yet,  notwithstanding  its  clearness,  it  was  not  con- 
clusive, except  as  they  searched  the  Scriptures,  as  they 
penetrated  their  inward  meaning,  and  reached  into 
the  spiritual  depth  of  revelation.  The  words  taken  in 
themselves  avail  nothing  so  long  as  one  has  not  in- 
haled the  divine  breath  inclosed  in  them,  the  spirit 
by  which  they  are  animated.  Men  make  what  they 
wish  out  of  them  ;  they  wheel  into  the  meaning  of 
their  own  pre-conceived  notions,  whenever  their  true 
inner  sense  has  not  been  carefully  sought  out.  A 
mournful  and  striking  example  of  this  we  have  in 
the  Jews   to  whom   our  Saviour   spoke.      They  had 


296  THE   REDEEMER. 

the  words  of  God  :  what  am  I  saying  ?  they  had  the 
letters.  They  counted  them,  so  that  not  one  should 
be  wanting,  and  yet  they  did  not  possess  the  word  of 
God.  They*  had  the  skeleton  or  the  corpse  of  the 
word  ;  they  had  never  contemplated  it  in  its  beauty. 
They  read  the  word  constantly,  they  made  the  temple 
vaults  re-echo  its  sacred  sounds,  at  the  close  of  every 
Sabbath  they  imagined  they  knew  it  better  than  before, 
and  in  truth  they  had  not  comprehended  it.  The 
words  had  vibrated  in  the  air,  and  were  lost  there. 
The  word  of  God,  to  those  hypocrites  and  materialists, 
was  like  Jesus  Christ  before  Herod,  —  it  was  dumb; 
for  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  when 
read  without  emotion  and  without  prayer,  no  longer 
give  forth  the  thought  of  God  ;  they  are  unintelligible 
oracles.  That  absolute  unintelligibleness  which  is  the 
punishment  of  religious  indifference  may  be  regarded 
as  silence  on  the  part  of  the  divine  word.  Tlius, 
what  happened  in  that  day.  The  scribes,  who  not 
only  studied  but  copied  the  Scriptures  without  neglect- 
ing a  single  stroke  of  a  letter,  read,  as  it  passed 
through  their  hands,  a  Bible  falsified  as  regards  its 
spirit  in  a  Bible  scrupulously  exact  as  regards  the  let- 
ter. There  they  found  their  prejudices  and  their  pas- 
sions, a  temporal  Messiah  and  a  terrestrial  glory  ;  just 
as  the  very  same  letters  can  enter  into  the  most  varied 
combinations,  so  the  words  of  the  Bible  in  their  hands 
served  to  express  the  precise  contrary  of  revelation. 
With  marvelous  address  they  set  texts  in  order,  and 
covered  themselves  with  dead  literalism  as  with  an  im- 
penetrable buckler  against  the  arrows  of  truth.  They 
opposed   the   letter   to    the    sharp   incision   of  God's 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  297 

word,  and,  if  one  might  use  the  figure,  they  dulled  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit  against  its  own  scabbard,  to  pre- 
vent its  piercing  their  hearts.  Ah  !  doubtless  the 
words  are  precious,  they  are  indispensable  ;  without 
them  God's  thought  can  not  be  grasped  ;  but  if  they 
are  not  studied  and  pondered  in  good  faith,  it  is  very 
easy  to  turn  them  against  Jesus  Glirist.  Satan  him- 
self knows  how  to  make  use  of  them,  and  when  he  finds 
it  necessary  he  cites  with  most  scrupulous  exactness 
the  letter  of  the  Scriptures.  It  does  not  suffice,  there- 
fore, to  scrutinize  them,  like  the  Jew  ;  they  must  be  ap- 
prehended by  the  spirit.  He  who  thus  seizes  on  them 
no  longer  sees  in  them  scattered  fragments  ;  they  no 
longer  constitute  for  him  a  kind  of  wonderful  mosaic 
without  unity.  They  do  not  contain  merely  a  succes- 
sion of  verses  and  passages.  They  form  a  whole,  a 
living  organism.  Doubtless  no  investigation  ever  goes 
to  the  bottom  of  the  Scriptures,  but  yet  it  is  possible  to 
reach  to  the  heart  of  the  Bible,  whence  proceed,  like 
so  many  different  branches,  the  different  revelations. 
This  had  been  reached  by  the  Simeons  and  Zachariahs, 
the  Marys  and  the  Elizabeths,  the  few  just  and  be- 
lieving souls  that  waited  for  the  hope  of  Israel  ;  they 
knew  that  the  promise  of  the  Saviour  was  the  central 
point  of  the  Scriptures,  and  their  faith  in  the  Christ  was 
identified  with  their  faith  in  the  word  of  God.  Who- 
ever after  them  shall  sound  the  sacred  Book  will  find, 
like  them,  the  shining  proofs  of  our  Saviour's  mis- 
sion. 

The  Scriptures  are  not  simply  a  collection  of  proph- 
ecies ;  they  are  the  very  history  of  revelation  ;  they 
contain  the  archives  of  the  work  of  redemption  in  the 


298  THE   REDEEMEIi. 

world.  To  every  book  of  the  Bible  there  corresponds 
some  new  manifestation  of  the  power  of  God,  s(fme 
new  and  important  act  of  his  compassion.  It  might 
be  said  that  every  portion  of  the  Scriptures  has  inau- 
gurated a  phase  in  the  religious  history  of  humanity. 
He  who  seizes  upon  them  with  the  spirit,  by  this  very 
act  is  learning  the  meaning  of  this  history.  He  discerns 
its  object  and  unity,  and  he  sees  not  merely  prophecies 
linked  in  with  prophecies  up  to  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ, 
but  he  sees  facts  linked  in  with  facts,  periods  with  peri- 
ods, and  the  entire  ancient  world  gravitating  toward 
the  cross  of  the  Redeemer.  That  cross  becomes  to  his 
eyes  the  pivot  of  all  history.  The  sufferings  and  the 
struggles  of  nations,  and  especially  the  trials  of  the  one 
people  chosen  to  represent  humanity  before  God  under 
the  old  dispensation,  and  to  furnish  in  its  own  history 
the  key  of  universal  history, — all  these  different  events 
seem  to  him  to  terminate  in  the  Saviour  ;  so  that  were 
not  our  Saviour  in  the  world,  it  would  result  not 
merely  that  the  Scriptures  were  stripped  of  meaning, 
but  also  forty  centuries  of  toil,  of  combat,  and  of  pre- 
paration would  become  meaningless  and  absurd. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  the  Scriptural  argument  pre- 
sented to  those  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of 
the  Scriptures  has  a  value  only  in  the  degree  in  which 
they  have  understood  the  Scriptures  ;  and  as  they  are 
really  understood,  and  their  deep  import  apprehended, 
only  when  a  desire  for  the  truth  has  been  experienced, 
and  investigation  has  been  prosecuted  in  an  honest, 
earnest  spirit,  it  follows  that  even  the  Scriptural  proof 
must  be  based  upon  a  certain  correlation  of  the  soul  with 
revelation,  upon  a  certain  moral  disposition,  upon  sin- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  299 

cerity  and  uprightness  of  heart.  "  You  believe  not," 
saî3  our  Saviour,  in  this  very  text,  "  because  ye  have 
not  his  word  abiding  in  you."  A  profound  remark, 
which  would  be  regarded  as  audacious  in  any  other 
moutli  than  the  Master's  ;  which  shows  us  that  so  long- 
as  the  divine  word  is  external  to  us,  so  long  as  it  has 
not  penetrated  us  through  grace,  it  is  but  a  vain  sound 
striking  the  air,  a  seeming  and  an  illusory  authority. 
If  now,  my  brethren,  we  consider  the  use  that  can 
be  made  of  the  Scriptural  argument  with  those  who 
do  not  believe  in  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  we 
must  admit  that  it  can  not  be  exhibited  in  the  same 
manner.  Too  often  the  Scriptures  are  appealed  to  in 
the  case  of  the  unbeliever,  as  if  he  accepted  their  au- 
thority. To  act  thus  is  attempting  to  have  a  suit  at 
law  settled  before  a  tribunal  which  is"  not  recognized 
by  one  of  the  parties.  At  all  hazards  we  must  set  out 
from  a  common  starting-point  ;  otherwise,  we  do  not 
reach  the  same  end,  because  we  have  not  followed  the 
same  road.  Not  that  Scriptural  proof  has  no  place  in  a 
controversy  with  the  unbeliever,  but  it  is  essential  to 
avoid  asking  of  one's  adversary,  at  the  first  onset,  that 
which  he  can  not  grant.  Show  him  in  the  Scriptures  a 
simple  collection  of  testimonies  regarding  the  great  facts 
of  redemption  ;  ask  him  to  apply  to  these  testimonies 
the  same  rules  of  examination  as  to  all  others.  Three 
conditions  are  required  of  a  witness  before  confidence 
is  accorded  to  him  :  first,  it  is  necessary  that  he  has 
witnessed  the  facts  ;  he  must  also  be  perfectly  just  and 
sincere  ;  and,  finally,  have  sufficient  intelligence  to  com- 
prehend that  which  he  relates.  Here,  then,  is  the  three- 
fold question  wliich  you  ought  to  set  before  the  unbe- 


300  THE   REDEEMER. 

liever.  Were  the  biblical  witnesses  cotemporaries  of 
Jesus  Christ  ?  are  they  honest  men  ?  are  they  intelli- 
gent ? 

Are  they  coteraporary  with  the  facts  which  they  re- 
late ?  Press  the  unbeliever  on  this  first  question,  and 
if  he  answers  you  that  the  gospel  is  a  fiction  invented 
long  after  the  epoch  to  which  we  refer  its  composition, 
require  of  him  the  reasons  for  this  assertion  ;  ask  him 
if  he  has  made  the  investigation  necessary  to  establish 
it,  if  he  has  examined  and  weighed  all  the  different 
testimonies  of  history,  and  if  he  is  well  warranted  in 
challenging  them.  You  will  be  confounded  at  his 
scientific  levity,  and  at  his  credulity  in  accepting  in 
a  mass  the  conclusions  of  a  science  not  less  frivolous 
than  himself.  You  will  lead  him  without  difficulty  to 
perceive  that  the  denial  of  the  authenticity  of  the 
Scriptures  is  a  point  less  easy  to  be  sustained  than  he 
had  at  first  supposed.  This  will  be  already  a  first  step 
gained,  and  a  result  not  to  be  despised  ;  for  we  ask 
nothing  but  impartiality  in  examining  this  question 
of  authenticity.  We  do  not  fear  examination.  We 
know  that  in  an  historical  point  of  view  nothing  is  more 
solidly  established  than  the  biblical  testimony  regarded 
as  a  whole.  We  also  put  far  from  us  the  wholly  Cath- 
olic idea  which  pronounces  the  canon  a  fact  not  to  be 
discussed,  and  which  interdicts  conscientious  inquiries 
with  regard  to  such  and  such  portions  of  the  holy 
Book.  This  stroke  of  despair  adopted  by  a  theology 
held  at  bay  is  just  suited  to  furnish  weapons  to  unbe- 
lief. Thanks  be  to  God,  this  is  but  a  strange  eccen- 
tricity in  the  history  of  the  church.  The  greatest 
church-teachers  in  all  ages  have  formally  rejected  it, 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   PROPHET.  301 

beginning  with  the  Fathers  and  ending  with  the  Re- 
formers. 

After  having  decided  the  first  question,  let  us  pass 
to  the  second.  Are  the  witnesses  honest  ?  Upon 
this  point,  likewise,  press  the  unbeliever.  A  knave 
has  always  some  interested  motive  leading  him  to 
deceive  us.  Where  can  a  similar  motive  be  found 
on  the  part  of  the  apostles  ?  Have  they  flattered  us  ? 
Have  they  soothed  human  pride  ?  Strange  flatterers 
are  the  men  who  said  with  one  voice,  "  There  is  none 
righteous,  no,  not  one,"  —  strange  flatterers,  men  like 
Peter  and  Paul,  who  depicted  in  such  fearful  colors 
the  corruption  of  mankind,  and  that  of  their  own  times! 
Did  they  flatter  themselves,  did  they  exhibit  them- 
selves as  religious  heroes  ?  No,  they  brought  accusa- 
tions against  themselves  with  genuine  candor.  Their 
slowness  in  apprehending  the  Master's  words,  their 
errors,  their  falls,  their  first  acts  of  cowardice,  were 
all  avowed  without  concealment.  Finally,  these  knaves 
must  have  carried  their  deceit  very  far.  Falsehood 
commonly  stops  at  the  side  of  the  tomb,  for  it  no 
longer  avails  a  man  who  is  about  to  die  ;  the  glory  of 
the  earth  vanishes  from  him  like  smoke,  and  he  knows, 
then,  the  hour  of  judgment  approaches.  Falsehood 
expires  upon  lips  already  stiffening  in  death.  If  the' 
apostles  were  not  sincere,  they  lied  and  deceived  even 
upon  the  scaffold,  even  beneath  the  executioner's  sword. 
Let  him  believe  it  who  will  or  can.  A  testimony 
sealed  with  the  blood  of  the  witnesses,  a  testimony 
which  is  a  martyrdom,  seems  to  us  so  attested  as  re- 
gards honesty,  that  to  question  its  sincerity  appears  to 
us  the  bight  of  absurdity. 

2G 


302  THE   REDEEMEIÎ. 

Finally,  were  these  witnesses  intelligent  ?  did  they 
understand  that  which  they  announced  ?  In  our  view, 
when  it  relates  to  revelation,  to  be  intelligent  is  equiva- 
lent to  being  inspired  ;  for  the  Spirit  alone  searcheth  the 
things  that  are  of  God.  The  question,  then,  takes  this 
form  :  Were  these  witnesses  inspired  ?  To  establish  this, 
my  brethren,  do  not  lose  yourselves  in  long  disquisitions  ; 
you  will  not  fail,  doubtless,  to  exhibit  the  proof  from 
prophecy  which  shows  a  manifest  and  miraculous  in- 
tervention on  the  part  of  God's  Spirit  ;  exhibit,  also,  the 
incomparable  unity  of  these  books,  written  at  different 
epochs,  by  men  differing  greatly  among  themselves; 
set  forth  the  incomparable  beauty  of  the  Scriptures, 
in  whatever  point  of  view  they  are  regarded.  But  there 
is  a  kind  of  argument  still  more  effectual.  Open  this 
book,  read  a  few  pages  of  it  ;  you  may  be  sure  in  advance 
that  the  unbeliever  is  not  really  acquainted  with  it  ; 
often  it  is  true  that  he  has  not  even  opened  it,  or,  if 
he  has  opened  it,  he  has  merely  run  through  it.  Read 
to  him,  with  a  soul  moved  by  the  truth,  some  portion 
of  the  holy  word,  and  if  he  does  not  then  feel  the 
breath  of  God,  if  he  does  not  cry  out,  "  God  is  here," 
it  is  because  he  is  not  willing  to  see  or  to  understand, 
it  is  because  he  refuses  to  come  to  the  light  ;  and  in 
that  case  you  are  very  strong  against  him.  You  take 
his  unbelief  in  the  act,  and  you  can  show  him  that  on 
this  point,  as  on  others,  he  does  not  believe,  not  because 
he  can  not,  but  because  he  will  not  ;  you  are  led  to 
make  a  question  of  conscience  out  of  a  question  of 
doctrine.  Thus,  whether  we  look  at  it  from  the  point 
of  view  of  him  who  admits  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, or  regard  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  un- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  303 

believer,  the  Scriptural  evidence  is  presented  before 
us  as  necessarily  bringing  the  heart  and  conscience 
into  court  ;  developed  in  this  manner,  it  is  armed  with 
divine  power. 

Let  us  take  heed  not  to  weaken  it  or  compromise  it 
by  exaggeration.  It  is  compromised  every  time  that 
it  is  identified  with  such  and  such  a  particular  theory. 
It  is  unsettling  faith  to  say,  "  The  Scriptural  proof 
has  no  force  unless  it  is  understood  precisely  as  we 
understand  it  ;  all  is  lost  if  you  leave  our  system  with 
regard  to  the  Bible.  Believing  in  its  inspiration  is  a 
small  matter  ;  you  must  believe  as  we  do,  under  pen- 
alty of  giving  up  faith."  Who  are  you,  then,  thus  to 
confiscate  the  Scriptures  of  God,  and  to  compel  them 
to  a  disputable  and  adventurous  theology,  like  all  that 
is  human  and  not  manifestly  revealed  from  heaven  ? 
The  greatest  misfortune  for  you,  and  the  severest  pun- 
ishment of  your  imprudence,  would  be  to  take  you  at 
your  word  ;  for  then,  truly,  the  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures which  you  love — but  not  more  than  we — would 
be  shaken.  You  suspend  it  wholly  on  your  special 
conceptions.  Ah!  the  branch  is  too  frail  to  bear 
this  sacred  burthen!  If  it  were  true  that  the  least 
question  raised  with  regard  to  a  text,  that  the  least 
notion  differing  from  yours  concerning  inspiration, 
would  destroy  the  Scriptural  proof,  it  would  have 
been  destroyed  long  since,  and  men  would  have  ceased 
to  speak  of  it.  Let  us  take  heed,  also,  not  to  rob  it  of 
its  greatest  strength  by  petrifying  the  Scriptures  ;  that 
is  to  say,  by  transforming  the  inspired  witnesses  into 
passive  organs  of  revelation.  God  has  revealed  these 
things  to  us  by  his  Spirit.    "  We  believe,  and  therefore 


304  THE    REDEEMER. 

speak."  Let  us  not  forsake  their  wide  data  of  apos- 
tolic inspiration.  Finally,  let  us  carefully  avoid  falsi- 
fying Scriptural  proof  by  using  it  in  a  fragmentary 
manner.  Let  us  continually  resort  to  the  great  bibli- 
cal whole,  to  the  entire  body  of  the  Scriptures  ;  let  us 
explore  them,  also,  for  the  purposes  of  Christian  po- 
lemics. Let  us  not  quote  them  as  did  the  rabbis,  but 
like  Christians  who  are  thoroughly  persuaded  that 
with  isolated  words  war  can  be  waged  against  Jesus 
Christ  as  truly  as  in  his  name.  Let  us  employ  the 
Scriptural  proof  with  intelligence  and  with  spirituality  ; 
above  all,  let  it  be  in  our  hands  the  sword  that  reaches 
the  joints  and  the  marrow,  and  it  will  be  for  us  what 
it  has  ever  been  for  the  church,  one  of  the  best 
weapons  of  the  Christian  panoply  ! 

We  have  dwelt  upon  the  Scriptural  proof  on  account 
of  the  frequent  misconceptions  to  which  it  has  been 
exposed.  We  shall  be  more  brief  on  the  two  other 
proofs  employed  by  our  Lord  ;  we  now  refer  to  mira- 
cles, and  to  the  moral  evidence.  "  The  works  which 
the  Father  hath  given  me  to  finish,  the  same  works 
that  I  do,  bear  witness  of  me  that  the  Father  hath 
sent  me."  I  have  not  to  demonstrate  to  you,  my 
brethren,  the  possibility  or  the  reality  of  the  miracles 
of  Jesus  Christ.  On  the  first  point  I  will  only  ask 
you,  Do  you  believe  in  God  ?  that  is  to  say,  Do  you 
believe  in  a  God  who  is  free  and  powerful  ?  Then  the 
subject  of  miracles  offers  you  no  difficulty'.  You  per- 
ceive that  this  God  who  is  free  can  intervene  by  his 
power  as  it  pleases  him,  and  when  it  pleases  him,  in 
creation,  without  being  bound  by  the  chain  of  natural 
causes  and  effects.     The  same  hand  that  fastened  the 


JESUS    CHBIST  AS   PROPHET.  305 

first  links  to  his  throne  can  break  it  at  any  moment 
to  form  it  anew  at  his  pleasure.  With  regard  to  the 
reality  of  Christ's  miracles,  it  springs  from  the  hon- 
esty of  the  witnesses  to  his  holy  life  ;  the  scriptural 
evidence  establishes  it  to  our  minds  in  an  irrefragable 
manner.  When  we  shall  come  to  unfold  before  your 
eyes  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  shall  consider 
the  divine  character  of  his  miracles.  To-day  I  sup- 
pose them  to  be  admitted,  and  I  confine  myself  to  the 
question.  What  is  their  value  in  Christ's  apologetic  ? 

And  first,  let  us  have  a  correct  understanding  with 
regard  to  the  nature  of  a  miracle.  A  miracle  is  an 
extraordinary  fact,  which,  since  it  can  not  be  explained 
by  any  natural  cause,  must  be  attributed  to  a  super- 
natural cause.  It  is  a  direct  intervention  of  God, 
who,  by  a  sovereign  act,  suspends  the  natural  law. 
The  idea  of  a  miracle  is  essentially  connected  with  the 
idea  of  a  revelation.  Forgiveness  itself  is  the  first 
miracle  ;  it  is  the  most  difficult  of  all,  and  after  that 
no  other  ought  to  surprise  us.  After  the  introduction 
of  sin  the  natural  course  of  things  was  bringing  on  an 
absolute  and  universal  condemnation.  Forgiveness 
interrupted  this  natural  course  ;  the  love  of  God  inter- 
vened, and  there  took  place  in  his  heart  an  event  un- 
heard of,  —  in  the  rational  point  of  view,  impossible. 
Instead  of  smiting  the  guilty  one,  he  pardoned  him. 
From  this  first  miracle  flow  all  the  others  ;  ibr,  in  a 
world  of  sin,  all  that  which  concurs  to  salvation  is 
miraculous,  or  contrary  to  the  natural  course  of  things. 
All  revelations  of  God  have  been  sovereign  manifesta- 
tions of  his  love.  Particular  miracles  were  but  the 
beaming  forth  of  the  one  essential  miracle,  which  ever 


306  THE   REDEEMER. 

was  the  fulfillment  of  the  work  of  salvation.  The 
greatest  miracle,  the  transcendent  miracle,  was  the 
person  itself  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  in  him  divine  compas- 
sion fully  revealed  itself  to  destroy  the  fruits  of  sin, 
the  natural  consequences  of  the  Fall.  But  this  miracu- 
lous character  of  the  person  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  to  be  rendered  visible  to  men  by  special  miracles, 
by  works  which  should  be  its  evident  sign.  Those 
works  had  no  other  aim  than  to  bring  men  to  Jesus 
Christ,  who  is  himself  the  miracle  incarnate. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  the  works  of  Jesus  Christ  pos- 
sessed a  convincing  efficacy  only  in  so  far  as  they 
caused  his  mission  to  be  discovered  and  discerned,  and 
as  they  led  men  to  him.  They  demonstrated  that 
he  was  approved  of  God,  and  that  he  was  clothed  with 
his  power.  They  revealed  his  nature  in  a  striking 
way  ;  they  were  like  brilliant  reflections  of  him  which 
struck  all  eyes.  The  individual  miracle,  considered 
exclusively  as  something  marvelous,  is  of  no  value 
in  the  Saviour's  esteem.  It  proves  nothing  conclu- 
sively, for  an  extraordinary  operation  of  infernal 
power  may  be  admitted.  Hell  can  have  its  miracles 
when  God  suffers  it.  The  important  thing,  then,  is 
not  the  raw  fact,  so  to  speak,  of  the  miracle  ;  it  is  its 
character,  its  close  connection  with  the  person  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  which  leads  us  to  recognize  his  holiness. 
A  miracle,  considered  in  an  abstract  and  general  man- 
ner, can  not  be  invoked  as  a  sufficient  guaranty  of  a 
doctrine,  for  in  that  case  one  might  be  made  to  believe 
in  a  messenger  of  Satan  as  soon  as  in  a  messenger  of 
God.  It  does  not  produce  faith.  Nay,  more,  it  hin- 
ders it,  so  long  as  it  remains  thus  isolated,  for  its  ap- 


JESUS   CHJRIST  AS   PROPHET.  307 

peal  is  only  to  that  which  is  most  external  in  man  ;  it 
speaks  solely  to  his  eyes.  A  belief  resting  only  on 
sight  would  be  the  opposite  of  faith,  which  is  the  sight 
of  the  invisible  ;  a  belief  based  on  purely  external  mir- 
acles would  not  be  superior  to  a  belief  based  exclu- 
sively upon  reasonings.  For  this  cause  St.  Paul  classes 
together  the  Jew  wJio  asks  for  miracles  and  the  Qreek 
ivlio  seeks  after  wisdom.  The  miracle  which  is  only  a 
wonder  is  not  a  more  spiritual  principle  of  belief  than 
human  philosophy.  In  the  one  case  as  in  the  other, 
man  takes  counsel  only  of  sight  ;  human  wisdom 
is  the  sight  of  the  reason,  while  the  wonder  is  per- 
ceived by  the  bodily  eye.  Faith  rests  upon  the  sight 
of  the  heart  and  conscience.  But  in  a  miracle  which 
is  only  a  wonder  the  heart  and  conscience  have  noth- 
ing to  do.  Jesus  Christ  always  refused  to  perform 
wonders.  Call  to  mind  his  answer  to  those  who  said 
to  him,  "  Master,  we  would  see  a  sign  from  thee." 
"  An  evil  and  adulterous  generation  seeketh  after  a 
sign  ;  and  there  shall  no  sign  be  given  to  it,  but  the 
sign  of  the  prophet  Jonas."  Was  it  possible  to  stig- 
matize more  completely  the  seeking  for  the  wonderful 
as  a  producing  cause  of  belief  ? 

The  momentous  fact,  therefore,  in  the  miracles  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  not  that  they  be  merely  wonders,  but 
that  they  bear  the  impress  of  his  person,  and  that  by 
them  his  person  is  illustrated.  He  does  not  lavish 
them,  he  does  not  seek  to  create  occasions  for  them. 
He  performed  them  through  love.  They  are  almost 
invariably  acts  of  mercy,  touching  proofs  of  his  com- 
passion. And,  remark  it,  he  grants  them  only  to  faith. 
Dost  thou  believe?     Such  is  the  question  which  he 


308  THE   REDEEMEE. 

puts  before  lie  performs  some  act  of  healing.  "  He 
did  not  many  mighty  works  there,  because  of  their  un- 
belief." The  miracle  does  not  drive  away  unbelief  ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  has  for  its  condition  a  certain 
amount  of  faith.  "  Neither  will  they  be  persuaded 
though  one  rose  from  the  dead."  The  external  mira- 
cle would  produce  astonishment  and  surprise  in  them  ; 
but  between  astonishment  and  inward  persuasion  there 
yawns  an  abyss.  The  generation  who  were  cotemporary 
with  Jesus  Christ  were  present  at  the  most  illustrious 
miracle  of  our  Lord.  They  saw  Lazarus  raised  again, 
and  did  not  believe,  because  they  stopped  short  at  the 
wonder,  and  did  not  apprehend  the  divine  import  of 
the  miracle.  The  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  itself 
stands  forth  in  its  full  signification  only  before  that 
mind  which  comprehends  its  vast  scope  with  respect 
to  the  matter  of  salvation.  The  Jews  knew  that  he 
had  left  his  tomb  on  the  third  day,  and  not  the  less 
did  they  remain  in  their  incurable  unbelief. 

Examine  more  closely  the  miracle  wrought  at  Beth- 
any. It  will  assist  us  in  characterizing  the  works  of 
Jesus  Christ.  .The  Master  hastens  to  the  family  a  few 
days  after  learning  the  sickness  of  Lazarus.  Led  by 
Martha  and  Mary  to  the  sepulcher  where  their  brother 
lay  buried,  he  groaned  within  himself.  It  is  through 
compassion,  and  with  an  emotion  of  tender  love,  that 
he  raises  the  dead  man.  First  of  all,  he  calls  upon  his 
Father,  and  shows  by  that  prayer  his  perfect  humility. 
Humility  and  love,  is  not  that  Jesus  in  the  entire  com- 
pleteness of  his  character  ?  and  can  not  we  say  that 
this  miracle  is  a  brilliant  ray  of  his  soul,  while  it  is  a 
new  proof  that  the  virtue  of  God  dwelleth  in  him  ?    Like 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   PROPHET.  309 

all  the  miracles  of  our  Saviour,  it  possesses  also  a  sym- 
bolical character.  Standing  beside  the  opened  tomb, 
and  in  sight  of  that  man  raised  from  the  dead,  it  is 
impossible  not  to  think  of  the  moral  resurrection  which 
Jesus  Christ  designs  to  accomplish.  Everything  in 
this  miracle,  as  in  the  others,  is  stamped  with  the 
spirituality  and  the  humble  love  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
Father  by  this  resplendent  act,  as  by  the  other  works 
of  Jesus  Christ,  says  to  men,  "  It  is  my  Son  ;  hear 
him."  But  in  order  to  hear  him,  to  perceive  his 
divine  lineaments,  to  get  beyond  the  external  wonder, 
we  must  have  ears  to  hear  and  eyes  to  see  ;  we  must 
possess  a  degree  of  religious  susceptibility,  a  certain 
moral  disposition  ;  and  thus  the  miracle,  like  the  Scrip- 
tural proof,  brings  us  back  to  the  moral  proof.  We 
are  now  to  consider  in  what  manner  this  has  been  pre- 
sented by  our  Lord. 

The  forty-fourth  verse  of  the  fifth  chapter  of  St. 
John  sums  it  up  in  a  few  words  :  "  How  can  ye  be- 
lieve, which  receive  honor  one  of  another,  and  seek  not 
the  honor  which  cometh  from  God  only  ?  "  Let  us 
endeavor  fully  to  comprehend  these  words  ;  they 
comprise  the  profoundest  and  most  characteristic  part 
of  Christ's  apologetic.  According  to  our  Lord,  the 
great  obstacle  to  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Jews  is  not  in 
their  understandings,  but  in  their  hearts.  The  cause 
of  their  unbelief  is  not  so  much  a  doctrinal  difficulty  as 
a  moral  feeling.  They  seek  for  human  glory,  they  have 
regard  to  pride  and  selfishness.  That  prevents  their 
discerning  and  accepting  religious  truth.  Their  re- 
ligious touch  is  dulled  ;  the  light  shines  before  their 
eyes  and  does  not  illume  them.     The  practice  of  good- 


310  THE   REDEEMER. 

ness  would  lead  them  to  discern  the  true  :  "  If  any  man 
will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether 
it  he  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself."  By  not 
doing  the  will  of  God,  by  seeking  for  human  glory,  they 
render  themselves  incapable  of  distinguishing  divine 
revelation  even  by  its  surest  tokens.  At  the  base  of 
this  apologetic  lies  the  great  thought  that  there  exists 
a  profound  affinity  between  the  Saviour  and  the  human 
conscience.  Were  it  otherwise,  of  what  import  as  re- 
gards religious  conviction  would  be  obedience  or  dis- 
obedience to  the  prescriptions  of  conscience  ?  As  there 
would  be  no  connection  between  it  and  Jesus  Christ, 
the  greater  or  less  observation  of  conscience  would 
have  no  effect,  whether  in  causing  us  to  accept  or  to 
reject  Christian  doctrine.  If  the  change  in  the  con- 
science manifested  by  selfish  seeking  for  human  glory 
prevents  our  believing  in  the  Saviour,  we  ought  to  infer 
from  this  that  antecedently  to  its  total  perversion  it  pos- 
sessed the  capacity  of  believing  in  him,  and  that  con- 
sequently there  exists  originally  between  it  and  him,  as 
it  were,  a  pre-established  harmony.  The  existence  of 
this  harmony  we  have  not  now  to  prove.  The  entire 
series  of  these  discourses  has  rested  upon  that  firm  be- 
lief. We  have  shown  you  in  Jesus  Christ  not  only  the 
desire  of  the  nations,  but  of  every  human  soul.  The 
religious  history  of  man,  which  is  the  resounding  echo 
of  his  conscience,  has  brought  to  us  this  testimony. 
We  have  seen  that  pagan  nations,  under  symbols  of 
the  grossest,  and  often  the  most  confused  nature,  ex- 
pressed their  desire  for  a  divine  Redeemer,  and  that 
they  all  celebrated  the  worship  of  the  unknown  God, 
calling  upon  him  and  invoking  him  in  all  the  languages 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  P  HOP  HE  T.  311 

spoken  on  the  earth.  We  have  seen  that  every  man 
sighed  after  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  heard  speaking 
in  his  heart  that  voice  of  God  which  says  to  him,  "  Seek 
thou  my  face."  We  have  heard  that  voice,  at  first  in 
the  inward  groaning,  in  that  universal  plaint  which 
we,  each  in  his  turn,  repeat,  in  that  supplication  of  the 
condemned  man  who  asks  for  a  Saviour,  a  victim  that 
shall  deliver  him  from  condemnation  and  expiate  his 
sin.  We  have  heard  that  voice  in  our  aspirations  after  the 
good,  the  holy,  the  infinite,  in  our  hurning  sighs  after 
renewal,  in  our  thirst  after  righteousness  and  truth, 
which  is  the  thirst  after  God.  The  need  of  forgive- 
ness and  the  need  of  God  torment  every  soul  of  man. 
But  the  Redeemer  satisfies  perfectly  both  of  these 
needs.  He  brings  to  us  forgiveness,  and  he  restores 
God  to  man.  By  forgiveness,  he  comforts  our  wretch- 
edness ;  by  the  revelation  of  God,  he  satisfies  our  no- 
blest aspirations.  There  exists,  then,  between  con- 
science and  Christ  the  same  relation  that  exists  be- 
tween the  famished  body  and  the  food  prepared  for  it. 
A  divine  sensibility  was  left  in  it,  and  this  is  divinely 
re-awakened  in  order  that  conscience  may  recognize  in 
him  the  deliverer  whom  she  waited  and  asked  for, 
though  she  knew  him  not. 

The  most  powerful  defense  of  the  gospel  will  be  that 
which,  not  neglecting  other  proofs,  shall  aim  especially 
at  manifesting  this  relation  between  Jesus  Christ  and 
us.  It  is  this  method  which  he  chiefly  employed,  and 
which  he  has  bequeathed  to  us  as  the  most  capable  of 
persuading  men.  We  therefore  believe  that  we  have 
done  more  toward  establishing  the  truth  of  Christian- 
ity by  setting  before  you  the  holiness  of  the  Saviour, 


312  THE   REDEEMER. 

than  by  accumulating  the  most  learned  arguments. 
Every  right  conscience  must  immediately  acknowl- 
edge, by  the  light  of  a  sudden  and  irresistible  evi- 
dence, that  he  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  If  we 
consult  the  experience  of  Christians,  we  shall  see  that 
it  conclusively  favors  our  view.  I  appeal  to  your  rec- 
ollections. What  is  that  which  overthrew  you  on  your 
journey  to  Damascus  ?  Is  it  external  evidence  ?  Per- 
haps it  rendered  you  attentive  to  Christianity,  perhaps 
it  exerted  a  blessed  influence  over  you,  but  not  in  that 
did  you  find  the  prick  that  pierced  you,  and  against 
which  you  could  not  kick.  It  was  not  at  the  close  of 
a  comparative  study  of  prophecies  and  miracles  that 
you  fell  on  your  knees  before  the  cross.  It  was  not 
at  the  termination  of  a  patient,  logical  deduction  that 
you  gave  up  your  arms.  You  had  not  the  leisure  to 
weigh  the  arguments  for  and  against  the  gospel  in  the 
balances  of  your  understanding.  A  divine  hero,  like 
the  great  Roman  general  spoken  of  in  history,  threw  his 
sword  into  one  of  the  scales  ;  that  is  to  say,  his  piercing 
word  seized  upon  you,  subdued  you,  penetrated  you  be- 
fore the  conclusion  of  your  syllogism.  Suddenly  you 
felt  your  nothingness  and  his  power,  your  sins  and  his 
love.  A  vivid  flash  of  lightning  illumed  your  night. 
It  lighted  up  for  you  the  divine  form  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  appeared  to  you  as  your  Saviour,  you  understood 
that  he  alone  would  listen  to  the  desire  of  your  heart, 
and  you  threw  yourself  at  his  feet,  crying  out,  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God  Î  " 

Whence  comes  it,  my  brethren,  that  this  moral  evi- 
dence of  the  gospel  is  so  rarely  felt  in  this  manner  ? 
Our  text  explains  it  to  us.     The  conscience  is  the  in- 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  313 

ward  eye  ;  but  we  are  too  often  interested  not  to  see, 
and  Ave  willingly  close  it.  Jesus  Christ  is  not  only  our 
Saviour,  he  is  also  our  pattern.  He  asks  of  us  holiness. 
And  this  it  is  which  affrights  and  irritates  the  sinner. 
So  long  as  he  will  persevere  in  sin,  he  fears  to  be  en- 
lightened ;  and,  fearing  to  be  enlightened,  he  flees  the 
light.  He  does  more  than  this,  for  it  is  difficult  to  fly 
from  the  light.  He  becomes  blind,  he  willingly  blinds 
himself.  "  Ye  will  not  come  to  me  that  ye  might 
have  life."  On  the  part  of  the  unbeliever,  his  choice  is 
made  not  to  see.  The  farther  he  plunges  into  sin,  the 
more  does  he  love  and  seek  for  the  darkness.  By  de- 
grees his  conscience  becomes  entirely  changed  ;  just 
as  the  eye  can  not  perceive  the  light  when  there  is  no 
longer  an  affinity  between  it  and  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
so  the  conscience  can  not  perceive  truth  any  more  as 
soon  as  it  has  reached  a  state  of  absolute  disharmony 
with  it.  Religious  truth,  in  its  highest  expression,  is 
divine  love  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  man  who  lives  only 
for  self-seeking  ends,  for  earthly  glory,  can  not  com- 
prehend the  beauty  of  love,  any  more  than  the  eye 
which  has  become  full  of  darkness  can  admire  the 
splendor  of  the  sun.  "  How  can  ye  believe,  which  re- 
ceive honor  one  of  another  ?  " 

Deceive  not  yourselves,  then,  in  this,  obstinate  un- 
believers. The  source  of  your  unbelief  is  in  your  wicked 
hearts.  Do  not  speak  so  loftily  of  your  systems, 
of  your  learned  theories,  which  in  your  opinion  have 
gone  beyond  the  gospel.  You  have  got  beyond  it  as 
men  go  beyond  the  yoke  of  duty  and  moral  rule.  Un- 
der these  great  names  you  will  cover  your  vices  and 
your  sins,  and,  above  all,  that  inextinguishable  love  of 

27 


314  THE   REDEEMER. 

human  glory  which  consumes  you.  You  deny  the  God 
of  the  gospel  because  you  are  not  willing  to  renounce 
your  idol.  Could  we  ascend  to  the  very  source  of 
your  proud  doctrines,  it  would  often  appear  to  be  some- 
thing very  weak  and  very  contemptible.  It  is  ever  an 
Agrippa  who  is  not  willing  to  leave  Berenice  ;  it  is  the 
man  of  pleasure,  or  the  ambitious  man,  who  will  not 
give  up  his  passion,  and  who  seeks  for  it  most  labo- 
riously a  learned  justification.  We  shall  believe  your 
sincerity  in  your  opposition  to  Christianity  only  when 
you  shall  show  us  a  pure,  austere,  and  earnest  life  in 
support  of  your  doctrines,  and,  I  say  further,  a  life  that 
is  clothed  with  humility  and  divested  of  all  desire  after 
glory.  Until  then  we  shall  not  separate  you  from  the 
multitude  of  those  who  have  said  of  God  and  his 
Christ,  "  Let  us  break  his  bands,  they  are  too  heavy." 
The  noisy  cry  of  rebellion  is  not  lifted  up  by  your  sys- 
tems, but  it  circulates  within  them  like  a  subtle  and 
yet  distinct  murmur.  You  desire  not  Christian  mor- 
ality, because  that  would  annoy  you  ;  and  this  leads  you 
to  reject  the  doctrine  with  much  outcry.  Moreover^ 
even  while  you  are  assuming  the  attitude  of  judges 
who  pronounce  a  final  sentence  concerning  the  gospel, 
it  is  found  that  you  do  not  judge  it,  but  by  it  you  are 
unmasked.  It  has  shown  your  corruption  and  your 
attachment  to  evil.  If  you  had  lived  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  you  might  have  draped  yourselves  in  the 
cloak  of  philosophy,  and  passed  for  disinterested  sages. 
But  now  that  cloak  is  pierced  through  and  through. 
Your  passions  have  constrained  you  to  take  sides 
against  the  perfect  revelation  of  goodness  and  truth. 
You  have  cursed  the  light  because  your  works  were 


JEStJS   CUBIST  AS  PROPHET.  315 

evil.  Take  good  heed  lest  by  continuing  in  that  path 
you  make  wholly  blind  the  inward  eye,  and  reach  a 
time  when  it  shall  be  decidedly  too  late  to  catch  the 
least  glimpse  of  the  light  of  the  sun.  The  evil  commit- 
ted, loved,  served  during  a  long  period  of  time,  ends 
by  conforming  itself  to  our  moral  nature  now  com- 
pletely "perverted,  and  its  assaults  reach  even  to  the 
conscience,  which,  wearied  with  the  contest,  approves  the 
evil.  Then  it  is  no  longer  simply  the  opposition  of 
darkness  to  light, the  usurpation  of  evil  is  consummated  ; 
it  is  no  longer  acknowledged  as  evil,  it  calls  itself  good, 
and  darkness  calls  itself  light  ;  if  Jesus  Christ  appears, 
he  is  not  adored,  but  is  looked  upon  as  the  son  of  Beel- 
zebub. Fearful  overthrow  of  all  just  notions,  total  rev- 
olution of  the  conscience  !  Whefi  he  has  reached  this 
point,  man  ceases  to  be  man  ;  he  becomes  a  moral 
monster  ;  he  is  a  cold-blooded  demoniac  ;  and  this  cold 
delirium  is  a  thousand  times  worse  than  the  most  fright- 
ful madness.  We  are  not  making  a  picture  from  im- 
agination. This  was  seen  in  the  very  times  of  our 
Saviour  ;  and  if  you  desire  that  it  be  not  seen  again  in 
you,  be  sincere  with  yourselves,  confess  the  secret 
cause  of  your  unbelief.  I  do  not  tell  you  to  believe 
this  day.  It  is  impossible  to  lead  a  man  whose  eyes 
are  diseased  into  the  full  light  of  the  sun.  I  only  say 
to  you,  Heal  your  diseased  eyes,  undertake  the  heal- 
ing of  your  conscience.  Endeavor  to  fulfill  that  which 
you  know  of  the  will  of  God.  Throw  sincerity  into 
this  effort,  and  quickly  by  a  mysterious  influence  the  in- 
ward eye  will  be  illumined  anew.  It  would  be  in  truth 
too  lamentable  to  live  overwhelmed  with  the  splendor 
of  that  light  from  on  high  which  has  shone  upon  us  for 


316  THE   REDEEMER. 

eighteen  centuries,  and  at  the  same  time  remain  like 
those  wretched  nations  of  pagan  antiquity  whom  the 
prophet  shows  to  us  sitting,  or  rather  buried,  in  dark- 
ness. 

Christ's  apologetic  consisted,  then,  principally  in 
carrying  back  the  appeal  from  unbelief  to  immorality, 
from  an  erring  understanding  to  a  perverted  con- 
science. Such  is  the  method  which  he  has  be- 
queathed to  us  ;  and  I  can  not  too  earnestly  press  it 
upon  Christians  to  employ  this  method  in  their  inter- 
course with  unbelievers.  It  is  applicable  to  all,  and 
can  be  used  by  all.  Let  them  imitate  their  Saviour  on 
this  point,  as  on  every  other.  I  do  not  say,  neglect 
other  proofs,  but  let  us  strike  the  adversary  in  his 
most  sensitive  point.  Let  us  not  leave  him  the  posi- 
tion of  an  arrogant  judge  ;  it  is  dangerous  for  him.  Let 
us  cause  him  to  descend  from  his  tribunal  by  bringing 
his  sins  before  him.  On  this  ground  we  shall  certainly 
be  victorious.  Discussion  unduly  excites  the  intellect 
of  our  opponent.  The  understanding,  and  yet  more 
human  language,  is  fertile  in  resources.  To  our 
arguments  he  will  oppose  arguments,  and  our  antago- 
nist will  withdraw  probably  satisfied  with  his  dialectic 
skill  and  with  his  talents.  Let  us  come  to  the  fact  ; 
let  us  make  haste  :  sin,  perdition,  is  the  fact  ;  let  us 
approach  it  with  tact  and  discretion,  certainly,  but 
with  frankness,  placing  ourselves  on  trial.  Let  us 
not  leave  our  adversary,  or  rather  that  poor  sinner, 
who  can  not  do  without  a  Saviour,  until  we  plant  in 
his  conscience  an  arrow  which  shall  remain  infixed. 
Perhaps  it  will  bring  him  wounded  and  penitent  to 
the  divine  Comforter.     Scarcely  had  Jesus  spoken  a 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  PROPHET.  317 

few  words  to  the  Samaritan  woman,  when  he  inter- 
rupted the  conversation  by  addressing  to  her  that 
humiliating  word,  "  Go  call  thy  husband."  "  I  have 
no  husband."  "  Thou  hast  well  said,  I  have  no  hus- 
band." He  put  his  finger  upon  the  wound  of  that 
soul  ;  therefore  will  she  quickly  ask  of  him  to  be 
healed.  The  breach  by  which  the  Lord  enters  within 
us  is  always  made  in  our  pride.  The  sense  of  sin 
prepares  the  way  for  him.  The  preacher  of  repent- 
ance has  not  ceased  to  be  the  forerunner  of  Christ. 
Let  us  then  preach  repentance,  not  only  in  a  general 
manner,  but  to  each  one  individually.  Let  us  make 
him  feel  the  edge  of  that  ax  which  is  still  laid  at  the 
root  of  the  trees,  and  let  us  remember  that  prepara- 
tion for  witness-bearing  to  the  truth  should  be  made 
by  rendering  energetic  testimony  against  evil.  He 
who  assails  sin  directly  strikes  both  error  and  evil  at 
the  indivisible  point  where  it  is  impossible  to  separate 
them.  This,  too,  is  the  strongest  and  most  fruitful 
kind  of  apologetic,  because  it  really  goes  to  the  bot- 
tom of  things,  and,  following  the  Master's  example,  it 
makes  its  appeal  to  the  deepest  and  most  earnest 
want  of  the  soul,  the  need  of  salvation. 

Perhaps  many  of  our  hearers  think  that  we  have  at- 
tributed too  much  importance  to  Christian  apologetic, 
and  that  greater  confidence  should  be  reposed  in  the 
grace  of  God.  This  scruple  would  indicate  a  singular 
misconception  with  regard  to  divine  grace,  which 
chooses  human  activity  as  the  ordinary  channel  of  its 
gifts.  We  firmly  believe  that,  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  and  by  all  possible  means,  we  must  plead  the 
Master's  cause.     But  not  the  less  fully  on  this  account 

27* 


318  THE   REDEEMEIi.  ^ 

do  we  accept  that  saying,  "  No  man  cometb  unto  me 
except  the  Father  draw  him."  Without  grace,  with- 
out the  operation  of  the  divine  Spirit,  heart  and  con- 
science remain  insensible  ;  and  it  is  especially  when 
grappling  with  unbelief  that  we  feel  the  barrenness 
of  human  efforts  left  to  themselves.  God  has  not 
abdicated  his  power  of  acting  directly  upon  the 
hearts  of  men.  It  is  he  who  prepares  the  field,  who 
bestows  the  fructifying  rain  and  dew  ;  it  is  he  who 
often  incloses  in  the  simplest  word  secret  and  ir- 
resistible virtue.  If  he  withdraws  his  breath,  our 
word  is  like  the  sounding  brass  or  the  tinkling  cym- 
bal. And  therefore,  0  Lord,  being  called  to  give 
testimony  before  this  unbelieving  and  perverse  gene- 
ration, we  desire  to  supplicate  thee  to  grant  to  thy 
witnesses  the  constantly  renewed  effusion  of  thy 
Spirit.  Give  them  the  spirit  of  prayer,  that  they  may 
not  speak  to  any  of  their  brethren  before  they  have 
spoken  to  thee,  0  Father,  to  ask  of  thee  an  effectual 
word,  full  of  thyself.  Shake  the  conscience  ;  and 
may  the  great  and  severe  lessons  which  thou  seemest 
ready  to  give  to  this  age  prepare  in  the  vexed  soil  a 
furrow  wherein  eternal  seed  shall  be  sown.  May  thy 
mighty  voice  impose  silence  on  insolent  doubt  and 
mocking  unbelief,  and,  understanding  the  nothingness 
of  glory  and  pride,  may  hearts  long  hardened  break 
beneath  thy  powerful  hand,  so  that  from  their  humili- 
ation faith  shall  be  born  in  them  at  the  word  spoken 
by  the  defenders  of  truth,  through  thy  grace,  and  to 
thy  glory  ! 


CHAPTER  X. 

JESUS    CHRIST   AS    SACRIFICE. 


FIRST    PERIOD    OF    THE    MINISTRY   OF    JESUS    CHRIST,    OR 
HIS   MANIFESTATION    TO    THE   WORLD. 

"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.'* 
—  John  i.  29. 

WE  have  finished  our  description  of  the  Redeem- 
er's prophetical  work.  We  enter  upon  his 
priestly  work  to-day.  It  did  not  suffice  that  he  should 
be  a  prophet  ;  it  was  also  necessary  that  he  should  be 
the  propitiatory  victim,  or  otherwise  salvation  would 
not  have  been  accomplished,  and  the  human  con- 
science would  still  have  sighed  after  the  perfect  Sav- 
iour ;  for  everywhere  and  always  it  has  perceived 
that  a  sacrifice  was  the  indispensable  condition  of  rec- 
onciliation with  God.  The  extent  of  this  sacrifice  is 
revealed  to  us  in  our  text.  It  shows  us  that  it  ought 
not  to  be  restricted  to  Christ's  death,  but  that  it  em- 
braces his  entire  life.  In  fact,  the  words,  "  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world,"  are  applied  to  our  Saviour  at  the  time  when 
he  is  entering  upon  his  ministry.  More  than  two 
years  passed  away  from  the  day  on  which  they  were 
spoken  to  the  day  when  his  redeeming  blood  watered 

319 


320  THE   REDEEMER. 

the  earth  ;  from  which  we  conclude  that  the  sacri- 
fice on  the  cross  is  the  final  term,  the  culminating 
point  of  a  long  sacrifice,  and  that  the  immolation  of 
Jesus  Christ  began  with  his  entrance  into  the  world. 
•Not  for  a  moment  did  he  cease  to  be  the  Lamb  that 
taketh  away  sin,  the  expiatory  victim,  the  great  high 
priest  of  the  new  covenant.  The  sacrifice  of  the  cross 
doubtless  combines  and  absorbs  all  others,  as  a  large 
river  absorbs  all  the  streams  which  pour  themselves 
into  its  bosom.  This  is  the  sacrifice  pre-eminently, 
that  one  without  which  all  others  would  be  insuffi- 
cient. And  therefore  the  gospel  reverts  to  it  continu- 
ally. Most  frequently  it  refers  all  the  redemptive  suf- 
ferings to  the  last,  which  is  the  crown  and  completion 
of  them  all.  But  it  would  be  an  inadequate  compre- 
hension of  the  gospel,  and  would  be  doing  violence  to 
our  text,  absolutely  to  isolate  the  crucifixion.  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  take  a  single  step  outside  of  the  path- 
way that  led  to  the  cross.  He  constantly  was  ascend- 
ing Calvary.  The  sufferings  of  his  life  are  to  be  added 
to  the  sufferings  of  his  death,  in  respect  to  the  great 
and  final  expiation,  y 

My  brethren,  in  what  should  this  expiation  consist  ? 
How  could  the  Lamb  of  God  take  away  the  sin  of  the 
world  ?  It  is  only  the  answer  to  this  question  which 
will  enable  us  to  understand  the  sacerdotal  work  of 
Christ. 

The  normal  state  of  man  is  one  of  absolute  agree- 
ment with  God,  of  perfect  union  with  him  ;  but,  be- 
ing a  free  and  intelligent  creature,  he  can  realize  that 
agreement  only  by  the  harmony  of  his  will  with  the 
divine  will.     The  result  of  the  Fall  was  the  opposition 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  321 

of  the  human  will  to  the  divine  will  ;  in  other  words, 
violation  of  God's  law,  rebellion.  The  God  of  love  is 
at  the  same  time  the  God  of  justice  and  holiness.  He 
can  not  suffer  his  law  to  be  violated  with  impunity, 
unless  he  declares  that  it  possesses  no  importance,  and 
that  it  is  allowable  to  make  a  mock  at  it  and  to  tram- 
ple it  under  foot  ;  that  is  to  say,  unless  the  very  foun- 
dations of  the  moral  world  be  overthrown.  It  must 
needs  be  that  the  guilty  man  feel  that  the  disharmony 
between  the  creature  and  the  Creator  is  a  frightful 
confounding  of  the  order  of  the  universe,  that  rebellion 
is  the  greatest  of  misfortunes,  or  rather  the  sole  source 
of  all  misfortune,  whilst  it  is  also  a  crime.  God's  law 
is  but  vain  words  if  it  is  not  avenged  on  its  violators, 
and  if  it  does  not  prove  by  their  punishment  the  folly 
and  shame  of  revolt.  A  pardon  incompatible  with 
justice  would  be  equivalent  to  God's  abdication  of  his 
throne,  for  his  greatness  can  not  be  separated  from  his 
holiness.  I  will  go  farther  :  I  will  say  that  the  con- 
science of  man  would  not  desire  such  a  pardon,  that 
it  would  not  even  believe  in  its  existence,  for  it 
bears  inscribed  in  letters  of  fire  the  righteousness  of 
God. 

Punishment  is,  then,  my  brethren,  the  precise  sanc- 
tion of  God's  outras^ed  and  violated  law.  It  must  fall 
upon  the  guilty  head  ;  the  hand  of  the  Most  High 
could  not  hold  back  that  thunderbolt  irresistibly  at- 
tracted toward  sin.  And  although  God  should  not 
punish,  man  would  punish  himself;  for  as  sin  consists 
in  rejecting  God,  as  it  is  the  refusal  to  love  him,  it  is 
the  refusal  of  happiness  ;  it  is  the  essence  of  all  unhap- 
piness  :  evil  and  misery  are,  in  the  absolute  point  of 


322  THE   REDEEMER. 

view,  one  and  the  same  thing.  Pardon,  then,  could 
not  consist  in  the  simple,  bare  repeal  of  condemnation  ; 
it  can  not  restore  guilty  humanity  into  the  communion 
of  God  so  long  as  it  is  in  a  state  of  revolt.  To  effect 
that,  it  must  needs  be  that  God  is  no  longer  God,  that 
love  is  no  longer  love,  that  is  to  say,  the  profound 
harmony  of  two  beings.  Humanity  can  be  saved  only 
by  returning  to  God  ;  and  it  will  return  to  God  only 
when  it  shall  have  perfectly  fulfilled  the  divine  law. 
Heavenly  pity  is  manifested,  not  by  terminating  the 
condemnation  in  a  moment,  but  by  giving  to  man  the 
means  of  finding  God  again,  and  of  rendering  back 
his  heart  to  him.  If  Jesus  Christ  had  come  into  the 
world  to  bring  a  salvation  not  founded  upon  perfect 
obedience,  he  would  have  come  in  fact  to  deny  the 
justice  of  God,  and  to  deliver  it  up  to  our  contempt. 
In  that  case  it  would  have  more  availed  not  to  leave 
heaven,  and  to  spare  himself  a  humiliation  so  useless, 
and  so  fatal  in  its  results. 

My  brethren,  no  child  of  Adam  could  satisfy  divine 
justice.  Were  they  not  all  shut  up  in  sin  and  in  con- 
demnation, as  in  a  circle  which  could  not  be  crossed  ? 
The  circle  must  be  broken  somewhere  by  a  creative 
and  almighty  act.  The  Son  of  man,  conceived  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  the  God-man,  is  alone  capable  of  com- 
pletely fulfilling  the  divine  law  ;  nay,  more,  obedience 
must  go  to  the  extent  of  sacrifice,  for  the  revolt  of  hu- 
manity has  drawn  after  it  terrible  chastisements.  Hu- 
man life  has  become  a  life  of  sorrows,  and  the  earth  a 
vale  of  tears.  The  point  at  issue  is  not  now,  as  on  the 
first  day,  to  obey  in  a  bright  and  glorious  abode,  but 
to  obey  in  the  world  of  condemnation.    It  is  necessary, 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  323 

then,  to  enter  into  that  condemnation,  accept  it,  and 
take  it  on  one's  self.  This  acceptance  constituted  pri- 
marily the  priestly  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  That  which 
Scripture  calls  thé  wrath  of  God  rests  upon  our  poor 
world.  By  descending  into  it,  our  Saviour  puts  him- 
self beneath  this  wrath,  that  is  to  say,  he  undergoes 
all  the  punishments  here  below  which  flow  from  sin  as 
from  a  corrupted  and  inexhaustible  fountain.  From  ^ 
the  humiliating  weakness  of  infancy  up  to  the  yet  '< 
more  humiliating  weakness  of  death,  from  physical 
anguish  up  to  moral  anguish,  pushed  to  its  utmost 
limits,  until  it  wrung  from  him  that  mysterious  word, 
"  My  Grod  !  my  God  !  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  " 
he  combined  in  himself  all  the  consequences  of  the 
Fall.  He  accepted  them  freely  and  willingly,  since 
he  had  not  merited  them.  He  who  was  without  sin 
was  treated  as  the  sinner  ;  he  suffered,  he  died  ;  but  his 
sufferings  and  his  death  rose  to  the  hight  of  a  free  sac- 
rifice of  love  and  obedience.  Condemnation,  thus  ac- 
cepted, is  no  longer  simply  condemnation  ;  it  is  an  act 
of  union  with  God,  a  restorative  act,  a  redemption.  We 
can  say  with  the  prophet,  that  the  chastisement  which 
was  ready  to  fall  upon  us  fell  upon  him.  His  sacrifice 
sealed  for  ever  that  union  between  humanity  and  divin- 
ity, of  which  his  person  was  the  certain  pledge.  His  obe- 
dience u.nto  the  death  of  the  cross  established  the  agree- 
ment between  the  human  will  and  the  divine  will  which 
the  Fall  had  destroyed,  for  he  offered  himself  as  being 
the  Son  of  man.  He  is  the  real  representative  of  hu- 
manity. He  concentrated  it  in  himself,  according  to  the 
expression  of  Irenseus.  His  priestly  work  is  therefore 
his  essential  work  ;  and  as  it  consisted  in  the  volun- 


324  THE   REDEEMER. 

taiy  acceptance  of  all  the  consequences  of  the  Fall,  of 
all  the  sufferings  of  human  life,  we  are  justified  in 
saying  that  it  embraced  his  earthly  career,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  close  ;  and  we  have  now  but  to  sketch 
it  in  its  general  features.  We  shall  do  no  more  than 
point  you  to  the  Lamb  of  God  proceeding  to  the  altar 
to  take  away  the  sins  of  the  world. 

It  is  not  our  aim,  my  brethren,  to  unroll  before  you 
the  entire  life  of  our  Saviour.  We  suppose  it  known 
by  our  hearers.  Moreover,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
constantly  returns  to  this  inexhaustible  theme.  We 
desire  only  to  give  you  a  guiding  thread  to  direct  you 
amid  the  multiplicity  of  facts,  and  to  exhibit  to  you, 
in  its  unity,  that  holy  life  which  was  but  one  prolonged 
immolation.  We  shall  endeavor  to  bring  out  this  as- 
pect of  the  sacrifice,  which  is  its  most  important  aspect. 
Let  us  never  forget  that  at  the  base  of  all  particular 
sacrifices  there  lies  one  antecedent  sacrifice,  from  which 
they  flow,  —  the  humiliation  of  our  Saviour,  his  in- 
carnation, his  appearance  upon  our  sinful  earth.  This 
already  suffices  to  enable  us  to  acknowledge  in  him  the 
Lamb,  the  victim  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world.  But  we  shall  not  limit  ourselves  to  that  view  ; 
we  shall  endeavor  to  bring  forth  to  view  the  special 
sacrifice  which  marked  each  period  of  the  Redeemer's 
life,  until  that  mysterious  hour  which  presents  to  us 
all  the  sufferings  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  bound  together 
in  a  single  indivisible  bundle  to  crush  him  and  to 
save  us. 

It  would  be  necessary,  first  of  all,  in  order  to  give 
you  a  complete  idea  of  Christ's  ministry,  to  transport 
you  into  the  midst  of  the  scenes  of  that  land  of  Judaea 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  325 

in  which  he  dwelt,  that  you  may  tread  his  native  soil  ; 
for  if  Jesus  Christ  was  pre-eminently  the  man  of  all 
countries  and  of  all  times,  he  nevertheless  possessed  a 
very  marked  individuality.  He  was  placed  in  given  cir- 
cumstances, over  against  certain  special  facts.  The 
more  exact  the  presentation  of  those  circumstances 
and  facts  to  the  mind,  the  better  is  the  Saviour  known. 
Then  nothing  abstract  attaches  any  longer  to  our  con- 
ception of  him.  We  see  him,  we  hear  him.  He  lives 
before  our  eyes.  He  is  no  longer  truth  reduced  into 
an  idea,  but  truth  that  lives,  and  which  consequently 
appears  under  an  individual  form.  It  will  be  neces- 
sary, therefore,  to  call  your  attention  to  the  sphere 
of  his  activity  before  speaking  to  you  of  his  -work. 
The  state  of  Judaism  at  that  memorable  epoch  must 
be  depicted.  You  must  see  it  resembling,  in  all  re- 
spects, expiring  paganism,  with  its  Stoics  and  Epicure- 
ans,* only  the  Stoics  are  called  Pharisees  at  Jerusa- 
lem, and  the  Epicureans  Sadducees.  These  two  ten- 
dencies of  thought,  which  flourish  only  upon  the  ruins 
of  falling  religions,  and  which  strive  to  escape  from 
despair  through  pride  or  through  voluptuousness,  re- 
appear under  different  names  upon  the  sacred  soil  of 
revelation.  The  Pharisee  wraps  himself  in  his  legal' 
righteousness,  as  the  Stoic  in  his  chilling  virtue.  Both 
at  heart  worship  only  themselves.  The  Sadducee,  like 
the  Epicurean,  does  not  believe  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  ;  and  if  he  says,  "  All  upon  earth  and  in 
heaven  is  vanity,"  he  does  not  fail  to  add,  "  except 
enjoyment."  A  third  sect,  the  Essenes,  a  kind  of  Jew- 
ish monks,  who  live  in  abstinence  and  solitude,  are 
the  representatives  in  Judasa  of  the  ancient  asceticism 

28 


326  THE   REDEEMER. 

of  the  East,  Avhilst  at  Alexandria  a  fantastic  form  of 
mysticism  seeks  to  revive  the  ancient  faith  by  pious 
practices,  and  to  appease  the  troubled  conscience  by 
useless  macerations.  Religion  is  no  longer  anything 
but  a  vain  form  ;  and  if  it  still  possesses  a  certain  influ- 
ence over  the  people,  it  is  because  they  confound  reli- 
gion with  patriotism,  which  has  become  tinged  with  a 
gloomy  enthusiasm  in  their  minds  in  consequence  of 
the  misfortunes  of  their  country  and  its  subjection  to 
the  Roman  yoke.  It  would  be  necessary  to  paint  in 
lively  colors  their  colossal  formalism,  those  unbeliev- 
ing priests,  those  scribes  and  teachers  stifling  beneath 
the  letter  the  vivifying  spirit  of  the  old  covenant,  that 
gross  and  fanatical  multitude  groaning  under  foreign 
domination  and  waiting  for  a  temporal  deliverer.  It 
would  be  necessary  to  bring  together  all  the  signs  of 
that  .vague  expectation  with  regard  to  a  great  approach- 
ing event  which  agitated  the  entire  world,  troubled 
Herod  upon  his  throne,  disquieted  the  Sanhedrim,  and 
urged  the  people  to  follow  every  impostor  who  played 
upon  their  passions.  In  a  word,  it  would  be  requisite 
to  cause  you  to  live  the  life  of  that  age  and  of  that 
country.  Then  the  gospel  history  would  acquire  an  en- 
tirely new  interest  for  you.  But,  unfortunately,  we  are 
bound  to  limit  ourselves  to  these  general  indications. 
That  which  we  particularly  regret  is  not  being  able  to 
pause  upon  the  mission  of  the  courageous  prophet, 
who,  being  the  immediate  forerunner  of  Jesus  Christ, 
gave  powerful  expression  to  those  secret  anticipations, 
to  those  pious  hopes  of  salvation,  to  that  inward  proph- 
ecy, which,  in  the  silence  of  prophecy  properly  so 
called,  had  developed  itself  in  earnest  souls,  and  which 


JESUS    CHIilST  AS   SACRIFICE.  327 

announced  with  ever-augmenting  clearness  that  the 
long  and  ardent  desire  of  Israel  was  about  to  be  ful- 
filled.    What  a  beautiful  and  nable  figure  is  John  the 
Baptist  !     Should  we  not  say  that  the  entire  ancient 
dispensation,  personified  in  him,  approaches  to  salute, 
or  rather  to  adore,  Him  who  was  to  come,  and  who  at 
length  had  come  ?     Have  you  not  found  the  two  most 
characteristic  features  of  the  preparatory  economy  re- 
peated in  him  ?     Who  could  fail  to  recognize  the  man 
of  the  law  in  that  man  who  preached  repentance  with 
such  indomitable  energy,  and  in  accents  at  times  so 
terrific  ?     We  are  ready  to  say  that  he  is  descending 
from  the  top  of  Sinai,  and  that  upon  his  austere  fea- 
tures there  shines  a  burning  reflection  of  the  wrath 
of  God.     When  he  plunges  his  numerous  proselytes 
into  the  waters  of  the  Jordan  does  he  not  seem  to  be 
fulfilling   the    great  mission   of  the  Old  Testament, 
which  was  to  plunge  the  burdened  sinner  into  the  bit- 
ter sense  of  his  sin,  to  bury  him  therein  in  some  sort, 
in  order  that  he  might  turn  unto  the  God  of  par- 
don ?     In  another  aspect,  have  you  not  recognized  the 
man  of  prophecy  in  those  closing  words  of  all  his  ap- 
peals, "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand  "  ?     Have 
you  not  discerned  the  man  of  prophecy  in  him  who 
was  continually  declaring,  "  One  cometh  after  me  "  ? 
And  do  not  law  and  prophecy  constitute  the  entire 
Old  Testament?     In  its  name,  therefore,  John   the 
Baptist  comes  solemnly  to   announce   its  fulfillment, 
and  the  necessary  disappearance  of  the  white  light  of 
the  dawn  before  the  Sun  of  truth.     We  should  love  to 
gather  together  those  different  lineaments  of  character 
which  have  rendered  this  great  servant  of  the  Most 


328  THE    REDEEMER. 

High  the  pattern  of  witnesses  to  the  truth.  Consumed 
with  zeal  for  his  mission,  living  for  it  alone,  his  entire 
person  stamped  with  that  seal  of  austere  greatness, 
of  profound  and  fearful  earnestness,  which  pertains  to 
a  representative  of  God  ;  a  man  of  the  desert,  even 
when  encompassed  by  the  multitude,  scourging  with 
his  rough  and  manly  speech  the  strong  and  the  power- 
ful who  live  in  sin  ;  by  his  severe  rebukes  troubling 
Herod  even  in  the  midst  of  the  impure  feasts  of  his 
palace,  and  thrusting  an  arrow  into  his  conscience 
which  he  shall  never  be  able  to  draw  forth  ;  above  alï 
this,  humble  among  the  humble,  ambitious  only  of  ob- 
literating the  traces  of  his  own  footsteps  so  that  the 
Messiah  alone  should  be  honored,  as  desirous  to  de- 
crease as  others  are  to  increase,  and  finally  crowning 
a  life  of  heroic  fidelity  with  a  martyr's  death,  —  such 
was  John  the  Baptist,  and  such  would  we  love  to  show 
him  to  you  in  the  last  acts  of  his  ministry  ;  but  we  are 
forced  to  be  content  with  stating  in  a  very  general 
manner  the  means  employed  by  the  Forerunner  to 
prepare  the  way  for  the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is 
time  to  enter  upon  this  work  of  sorrow  and  love.  Let 
us  survey  the  different  phases  in  the  Saviour's  life,  and 
with  regard  to  each  one  of  them  let  us  endeavor  to  es- 
tablish the  words  of  our  text,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

See  him,  then,  first  in  the  manger  at  Bethlehem. 
He  submitted  himself  to  the  humiliating  beginnings 
of  human  life  ;  he  passed  through  the  perfect  help- 
lessness of  the  little  child.  He  was  seen  in  swaddling 
clothes  and  in  his  cradle,  like  the  frailest  of  our  new- 
born babes.     This  was  the  commencement  of  his  vol- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  329 

untary  humiliation,  for  it  was  not  merely  in  liis  case 
a  fact  of  nature  ;  when  he  left  heaven  he  knew  to 
what  degrees  of  weakness  it  would  be  needful  for  him 
to  stoop.  Infancy  was  then  the  first  of  his  chosen 
acts  of  self-humiliation,  and  the  first  one  among  his 
sacrifices. 

Let  us  pass  rapidly  over  the  part  concerning  which 
the  gospel  history  furnishes  no  details,  and  let  us  re- 
spect in  this  silence  the  will  of  God.  Because  history 
is  silent  here,  legends  have  sprung  up  in  great  num- 
bers to  paint  this  epoch  in  the  life  of  Christ  ;  and  if 
we  desire  to  know  to  what  extent  the  legend  belittles 
that  which  it  professes  to  embellish,  to  what  extent  it 
changes  while  professing  to  conserve,  we  need  only 
peruse  the  apocryphal  gospels.  Let  it  suffice  us  to  know 
that  Jesus  Christ  passed  through,  one  by  one,  all  the 
stages  of  human  life  ;  that  he  subjected  himself  to  the 
conditions  of  gradual  development  ;  that  he  was  like 
unto  us  in  all  things  except  sin  ;  that  he  underwent 
the  trial  of  many  sufferings,  privations,  and  agonies 
inherent  in  our  earthly  condition,  during  the  thirty 
years  of  solitary  toil  and  of  obscurity  which  were 
spent  at  Nazareth. 

Let  us  come  to  the  momentous  hour  when  he 
enters  upon  his  active  ministry.  After  having  re- 
ceived a  kind  of  inauguration  and  consecration  by 
baptism  at  the  hands  of  the  man  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion, he  is  driven  into  the  desert,  as  if  to  prepare  for 
the  holy  activity  which  he  is  about  to  manifest. 
There  he  will  find  one  of  the  greatest  sufferings  of 
human  life  :  we  mean  temptation.  Since  the  Fall,  a 
mysterious  might  has  been  granted  to  the  powers  of 

28*  • 


330  THE  REDEEMER. 

darkness.  Man  is  obliged  to  struggle  against  an  in- 
visible but  furious  adversary  who  everywhere  pursues 
him.  We  shall  not  set  ourselves  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  rebel  angels  and  their  leader.  We  will  ask 
those  who  deny  it  on  behalf  of  a  preconceived  system, 
if  they  are  very  sure  that  they  have  never  felt  this 
baleful  influence  ;  if  there  have  not  been  days  when 
they  were  pierced  by  a  fiery  dart  hurled  by  no  human 
hand,  days  when  they  heard  a  seductive  voice  less 
perceptible  than  the  slightest  whispering  of  the  wind, 
and  yet  stirring  the  secret  fibers  of  their  hearts  or 
raising  the  tempest  of  their  lusts  ?  Ah  !  for  our- 
selves we  know  too  well  this  perfidious  and  obstinate 
tempter,  who  is  called  the  Prince  of  this  world.  The 
present  life  is  the  life  of  combat  and  temptation,  and 
Jesus  Christ  would  not  have  been  truly  the  Redeemer 
if  he  had  not  been  tempted  like  as  we  are.  Behold, 
then,  this  Lamb  of  God  struggling  with  the  devouring 
lion  !  He  accepted  this  humiliation  and  this  sorrow. 
He  whose  eyes  are  too  pure  to  look  upon  iniquity 
suffered  himself  to  be  approached  by  the  leader  of 
every  rebellion,  who  was  a  liar  and  a  murderer  from 
the  beginning.  Ah  !  who  then  could  dare  to  say  that 
such  temptation  does  not  form  a  part  of  his  passion 
and  his  redemptive  sufferings  ?  To  say  that,  one 
must  have  but  a  very  feeble  comprehension  of  the 
holy  horror  which  goodness  entertains  for  evil,  and 
light  for  darkness.  The  sacrifice  begun  in  the  man- 
ger is  then  continued  in  the  desert.  And  let  us  add, 
that  no  preparation  could  be  preferable  to  that  which 
he  found  in  being  tempted  upon  the  threshold  of  the 
career  in  which  so  many  temptations  awaited  him. 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE,  331 

Nothing  prepares  for  victory  like  victory  ;  the  best 
means  of  overcoming  is  to  have  already  overcome. 
The  Saviour  enters  upon  the  contest,  having  already 
won  the  victory  over  his  adversary  in  that  singular 
combat  of  which  the  desert  was  the  arena.  Not  only 
was  the  temptation  of  Jesus  Christ  a  sacrifice  in  it- 
self, but  it  was  also  the  occasion  of  Christ's  consecrat- 
ing himself  anew  and  wholly  to  the  fulfillment  of  his 
mission  of  love.  Satan  tempted  him  as  the  Messiah, 
and  thrice  sought  to  prevail  upon  him  to  use  his 
miraculous  power  for  a  selfish  and  personal  end  : 
"  Command  these  stones  to  be  made  bread."  "  Cast 
thyself  down  from  the  temple,  that  the  angels  may 
bear  thee  up."  "  Aim  to  possess  the  kingdoms  of 
this  world."  In  other  words,  "  Seek  'thine  own  ad- 
vantage from  thy  miracles."  "  Live  for  thyself  and 
not  for  others."  The  temptation  of  Jesus  Christ  was, 
you  perceive,  under  a  specific  form,  the  everlasting 
and  universal  temptation  of  the  self-seeking  princi- 
ple. You  know  how  Jesus  Christ  repulsed  it  thrice, 
thus  showing  that,  having  come  to  accomplish  a  work 
of  love,  he  desired  to  fulfill  it  by  love,  and  that  he 
placed  his  miraculous  power,  as  his  whole  life,  at  the 
service  of  his  brethren,  without  diverting  any  portion 
of  it  to  himself.  Thus  the  temptation  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  a  renewed  gift  of  his  being  to  God  and  to  men, 
at  the  same  time  that  it  was  a  part  of  his  sacrifice. 

Having  thus  prepared  himself  in  the  combats  of 
the  desert,  Jesus  Christ  enters  upon  his  active  min- 
istry. It  is  a  new  step  in  the  pathway  to  the  cross. 
New  sacrifices  are  prepared  for  him.  And,  first,  his 
life  during  the  course  of  his  ministry  was  a  human 


332  THE   REDEEMED. 

life  ;  that  is  to  say,  it  was  that  tissue  of  pains  and  suf- 
ferings which  it  is  impossible  to  analyze,  but  which 
are  thickly  sown  for  all  men.  He  freely  accepted 
them.  He  fed  upon  our  daily  bread,  which  is  often  a 
bread  of  bitterness,  and  he  constantly  broke  it  with 
thanksgiving  to  his  Father.  To  these  pains  inherent 
in  life  here  below,  he  joined  that  of  poverty.  He 
took  on  him  the  most  wretched  form  of  human  ex- 
istence because  he  wished  to  lay  upon  himself  tlie 
burden  of  our  greatest  sorrows.  Poverty  is  one  of 
the  saddest  consequences  of  the  Fall  ;  sad  for  the 
poor  man  whom  it  afflicts,  sadder  still  perhaps  for 
the  rich  man  whom  it  accuses.  Of  necessity  it  must 
find  a  place  in  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ.  Another 
suffering  which  never  left  him,  because  it  flowed  from 
his  love,  is  the  suffering  caused  by  his  compassion. 
The  pity  of  Jesus  Christ  had  no  relation  to  ours, 
which  is  so  superficial,  so  temporary,  and  so  easy  to 
bear.  His  was  a  true  communion  with  all  those  who 
suffered  and  wept  ;  no  one  suffered  near  him  without 
rendins:  his  heart.  Far  more  than  this  :  he  suffered 
for  those  who  did  not  suffer  ;  he  wept  over  the  hard- 
ened sinner,  and  nothing  wounded  him  like  the  sight 
of  unrepentant  evil.  The  Lamb  who  was  taking  away 
the  sin  of  the  world  was  bearing  the  weight  of  it  upon 
his  heart.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  how  contact  with 
men  must  have  pierced  his  soul,  and  whoever  ap- 
prehends but  dimly  the  Redeemer's  love  understands 
that  his  compassion  truly  constituted  a  part  of  his 
passion. 

But  aside  from  these  sufferings  common  to  all  the 
phases  of  his  ministry,  each  special  phase  had  its  quota 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  333 

of  sorrows.  Three  distinct  periods  can  be  marked  in 
the  active  career  of  our  Redeemer.  It  was  very  brief, 
for  it  did  not  extend  even  over  three  years.  In  truth, 
if  we  reckon  up  the  passovers  at  which  our  Lord  was 
present,  which  is  the  only  sure  method  of  settling  tlie 
duration  of  his  ministry,  we  find  three  related  by  St. 
John.  The  first  passover  is  that  on  which  Jesus  Christ 
drove  the  sellers  out  of  the  temple.  John  ii.  13.  The 
second  is  mentioned  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  St.  John. 
Jesus  was  not  at  that  feast.  The  third  is  the  great 
and  solemn  festival  when  the  true  paschal  Lamb  was 
substituted  for  the  typical  lamb.  The  entire  ministry 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  comprehended  within  these  two  and 
a  half  years.*  Within  this  brief  space  of  time  we  dis- 
cover three  distinct  phases.  In  the  first  period,  Jesus 
Christ  is  revealed  to  the  world  ;  he  is  manifested  as 
the  Messiah,  as  the  Son  of  God.  This  period  begins 
with  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people  for  him,  and  ends 
with  their  abandonment  of  him.  It  opens  with  the 
miracle  at  Cana,  and  closes  with  the  discourse  in  the 
synagogue  of  Capernaum  concerning  spiritual  food, 
after  which  the  multitude  forsook  Jesus  Christ.  The 
second  period  is  that  of  the  avowed  contest  between 
Jesus  Christ  and  the  Jews,  a  constant  and  mournful 
struggle.  It  begins  with  the  feast  of  tabernacles  at 
Jerusalem,  when  they  seek  to  put  him  in  prison,  and 
closes  with  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus,  by  which  the 
Saviour's  enemies  are  exasperated  and  are  decided  no 
longer  to  keep  any  terms  with  him.     The  last  period  is 

*  Many,  however,  regard  the  feast  of  the  Jews,  mentioned  John  v.  1, 
a  passover,  m-aking  four  in  our  Lord's  ministry,  which  thus  extended 
over  three  and  a  half  years.  —  Ed. 


334  THE    REDEEMER. 

that  of  the  issue  of  the  contest  ;  it  is  the  last  journey 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  Jerusalem  ;  it  is  his  unspeakable 
agony  ;  it  is  Gethsemane  ;  it  is  Golgotha.  These  three 
phases  are  like  three  steps  up  the  altar  of  sacrifice. 
The  Lamb  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  sur- 
mounted them  one  after  the  other.  He  renewed  his 
self-immolation  upon  each  one  of  them,  until  he  was 
led  to  the  slaughter  without  opening  his  mouth.  These 
are  three  acts  of  his  passion.  To-day  we  will  concern 
ourselves  only  with  the  first. 

But  before  recalling  to  your  minds,  my  brethren,  the 
chief  features  of  that  holy  life,  there  is  one  fact  which 
we  ought  to  place  by  itself,  in  some  sort,  since  it  pos- 
sesses an  equal  importance  with  reference  to  the  three 
phases  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  refer  to 
the  selection  and  the  training  of  the  apostles.  The 
evangelists  relate  that  twelve  men,  belonging  to  the 
lower  classes  of  society,  were  chosen  by  our  Lord  to  be 
his  habitual  companions,  the  witnesses  of  his  acts,  the 
hearers  of  his  words,  in  a  sense  his  intimate  disciples. 
Few  facts  have  been  more  perverted  than  these,  and 
from  few  have  error  and  superstition  drawn  conse- 
quences more  to  be  lamented.  We  can  not  enter  into 
a  regular  controversy  upon  this  important  point.  We 
shall  confine  ourselves  to  stating  what  the  apostleship 
is  in  our  view,  according  to  its  very  institution.  The 
word  apostle  signifies  an  envoy ^  one  sent.  The  apostles 
are  then  envoys  of  the  Lord.  In  this  sense  their  mis- 
sion had  no  special  character,  for  all  Christians  are 
messengers  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  were  twelve  in 
number  ;  this  figure  being  symbolical,  and  being  used 
with  reference  to  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.     Those 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  335 

twelve  tribes  constituted  God's  ancient  people.  The 
apostles  by  their  typical  number  represented  the  new 
Israel,  the  new  people  of  God.  In  this  sense,  also, 
they  were  not  clothed  with  a  character  which  was  ex- 
clusively theirs,  for  we  all  are.  destined  to  enter  among 
the  "  willing  "  people,  just  as  we  all  are  called  to  con- 
vey the  divine  message.  Nor  has  tlie  promise  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  created  a  privilege  exclusively  appertain- 
ing to  the  apostles,  for  the  Holy  Spirit  belongs  to  the 
assembly  of  Christians.  The  gift  of  miracles  was  not 
a  special  gift  of  apostles,  for  it  was  largely  diffused 
among  the  early  Christians.  What  is  it,  then,  which 
constitutes  the  peculiar  character  of  an  apostle  ?  for  he 
has  a  peculiar  and  exceptional  character.  Christ's  se- 
lection of  them  proves  it  abundantly,  as  also  the  care 
taken  by  the  apostles  to  complete  their  number  after 
the  treachery  of  Judas.  The  peculiar  function  of  the 
twelve  apostles  is  to  be  the  first  witnesses  of  Jesus 
Christ,  his  accredited  witnesses.  The  quality  requisite 
in  the  case  of  Matthias,  in  order  that  he  miglit  be  invested 
with  this  charge,  is  to  have  been  with  the  Lord  from 
the  baptism  of  John  until  the  resurrection.  Acts  i. 
21,  22.  The  apostle's  mission  is  to  preserve  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  living  remembrance  of  his 
person,  and  to  lay  the  corner-stone  in  such  a  manner 
that  upon  it  the  church  of  all  ages  may  repose.  He 
is  the  Christian,  the  messenger,  pre-eminently,  because 
he  bears  the  mandate  to  render  to  Jesus  Christ  a  tes- 
timony which  is  absolutely  competent  and  sufficient. 
The  apostle  was  not  only  the  witness  of  Jesus  Christ, 
but  he  was  the  witness  prepared  in  a  wholly  special 
manner  by  Jesus  Christ  himself  through  daily  contact 


336  THE   REDEEMER. 

with  him.  The  apostleship  of  St.  Paul  is  an  exception  ; 
and  he  was  recognized  because  his  miraculous  conver- 
sion was  as  valid  a  consecration  as  that  special  prepa- 
ration which  the  other  apostles  had  received  from 
the  Master.  Such  preparation  is  the  rule  ;  entrance 
into  the  apostleship  by  another  way  is  wholly  in  the 
light  of  an  exception.  The  apostles  do  not,  then,  form 
a  college  of  priests,  but  a  group  of  witnesses  chosen 
among  the  first  disciples  and  prepared  by  Jesus  Christ 
to  serve  instead  of  his  visible  presence,  by  means  of 
their  preaching,  or  their  writings,  or  the  writings  of 
their  immediate  disciples.  He  has  so  arranged  every- 
thing that  they  should  render  a  conclusive  testimony. 
First  he  selected  them  himself,  and  afterwards  he  gave 
them  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  only  to  fulfill  their  general 
vocation  as  Christians,  but  also  for  the  accomplishment 
of  their  special  charge  as  being  the  first  witnesses  of 
redemption.  It  is  evident  that  in  this  point  of  view 
an  apostolical  succession  can  not  be  spoken  of.  If  the 
apostles  are  immediate  witnesses,  they  can  not  have 
successors,  for  after  immediate  witnesses  there  can  be 
only  mediate  witnesses  ;  no  appointment  can  transmit 
the  quality  of  being  an  eye-witness  ;  and  as  the  au- 
thority of  the  apostles  depended  upon  the  peculiar  re- 
lation that  had  existed  between  them  and  Jesus  Christ, 
that  authority  was  incommunicable.  They  personified 
not  a  body  of  bishops,  but  the  church  itself,  Christian 
people,  the  everlasting  Israel,  the  twelve  tribes  of  the 
new  covenant.  It  is  this  church,  contemplated  as  a 
whole,  which  succeeds  to  them;  it  is  the  great  messen- 
ger of  God,  the  permanent  witnessing  body  for  Jesus 
Christ,  the  apostle  with  no  successor  ;  and  the  church 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  S37 

is  this  in  so  far  forth  as  she  rests  upon  the  primitive 
testimony.  It  is  with  the  apostolate  as  with  a  miglity 
river,  which  flows  at  first  confined  within  a  narrow 
bed  and  rolling  on  a  perfectly  pure  and  limpid  cur- 
rent ;  soon  it  enlarges  its  bed,  and  sends  out  number- 
less waves,  and  spreads  over  a  vast  basin  ;  but  now  the 
water  has  become  more  or  less  changed.  He  who 
would  drink  it  pure  must  drink  it  near  its  source. 
The  vocation  of  the  existing  church  is,  in  truth,  the 
apostolate  ;  it  is  in  truth  the  great  mission  of  Christian 
witness-bearing  ;  but  it  is  the  apostolate  changed  at 
the  same  time  that  it  is  enlarged.  The  primitive 
apostleship  alone  possesses  authority  ;  from  it  all  re- 
ligious truth  gushes  forth,  to  it  we  must  constantly 
repair  ;  but  it  is  none  the  less  certain  that  it  is  contin- 
ued in  the  church  as  a  whole,  and  that  aside  from 
this  there  is  no  apostolical  succession.  This  is  so  true 
that  already  in  primitive  times  the  name  of  apostle 
was  not  given  to  the  twelve  exclusively  ;  it  was  given 
to  Christians,  such  as  James,  who  had  received  no 
special  consecration.  At  that  time  the  approaching 
and  necessary  enlargement  of  the  apostolate  was  al- 
ready anticipated. 

However  it  may  be  with  those  controverted  ques- 
tions, it  is  certain  that  Jesus  Christ  chose  a  few  men 
of  the  people  to  become  his  special  witnesses.  He 
chose  them  among  the  lower  classes  of  society 
because  there  he  met  with  souls  possessed  of  the 
greatest  simplicity,  and  most  capable  of  receiving  the 
divine  impress.  Moreover,  every  great  religious  re- 
form has  a  popular  character  ;  it  proceeds  from  art- 
less, impetuous,  just,  and  ardent  minds,  who  embrace 

29  ' 


338  I'HE   REDEEMER. 

truth  with  uncalculating  enthusiasm  and  with  un- 
reserved devotion.  The  first  disciples  were  not 
ordinary  men  ;  they  represent  the  cliief  diversities  of 
human  character  to  be  met  with  in  this  world. 
Among  them  are  ardent  natures  and  calm  natures, 
practical  men,  and  also  profound  and  mystical  souls. 
Fashioned  by  a  delicate  and  powerful  hand,  and  pene- 
trated with  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  they  present  to 
us  the  beautiful  spectacle  of  human  nature  regene- 
rated in  its  most  decided  types  ;  each  of  them  reflects 
one  aspect  of  the  Master,  and  thus  they  will  preserve 
to  us  the  complete  image  of  his  divine  humanity. 
Notliing  in  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ  is  more  wonderful 
than  the  manner  in  which  he  carries  on  the  education 
of  these  men,  uncidtured,  rude,  and  for  a  long  time 
bound  to  him  by  the  heart's  instinct  rather  than  by 
thoughtful  conviction.  With  how  divine  an  art  did 
the  Sculptor  of  the  soul  cut  the  hard  and  formless 
marble  until  the  shining  forth  of  his  thought  could  be 
seen  in  it  !  What  forbearance  !  What  concern  for 
those  fishermen,  for  those  boatmen  and  publicans  ! 
He  deposited  in  their  hearts  the  seeds  of  truth,  he 
watered  them  and  cultivated  them  by  his  Spirit  ;  he 
instructed  them  with  regard  to  the  meaning  of  all  his 
■works.  He  did*  more  :  he  sent  them  forth  on  mis- 
sions, putting  them  into  the  salutary  school  of  expe- 
rience, and  by  new  teachings  he  imprinted  on  their 
minds  the  lessons  which  they  had  received.  It  was 
for  them  that  he  uttered  his  greatest  sayings,  those 
which  were  destined  most  powerfully  to  regenerate 
the  world.  Behold  in  that  handful  of  unlettered 
men  the  brilliant  auditory  which  the  eternal  Word 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  339 

had  chosen  for  himself.  Let  us  learn  from  him  the 
frnitfulness  of  Christian  labor  in  its  very  humility. 
If  we  can  speak  only  to  a  few  souls,  let  us  speak  to 
tliem  without  discouragement,  provided  that  it  be 
with  faith  and  love.  Let  us  cultivate  them  in  ob- 
scurity with  tender  care.  Let  us  remember  that  the 
last  discourses  of  Jesus  Christ  were  pronounced  in 
an  upper  chamber  at  Jerusalem,  before  eleven  disci- 
ples who  hardly  understood  him,  and  that  these  same 
words,  transmitted  from  age  to  age  and  flying  from 
one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other,  have  been  the  con- 
solation of  thousands  of  Christians.  Let  us  remem- 
ber that  those  eleven  disciples  became  the  conquerors 
of  the  old  pagan  world,  and  were  the  first  stones  of 
the  church  built  upon  the  divine  Foundation-rock. 
How  doubt,  after  that,  the  blessed  influence  of  Chris- 
tian activity  even  in  the  narrowest  circle  ? 

Let  us  return,  my  brethren,  to  the  ministry  of  our 
Saviour,  and  to  his  priestly  work.  We  have  not  lost 
sight  of  it  for  a  single  moment,  for  suffering  had  a 
large  part  in  his  daily  intercourse  with  his  chosen 
disciples.  One  of  the  most  poignant  sorrows  of  the 
present  life  is  the  imperfection  of  human  affections, 
the  bruisings  of  the  heart,  and  the  painful  shocks  of 
which  they  are  the  constant  occasion.  Affection 
without  a  cloud  would  be  affection  without  sin.  Poor 
sinners,  even  when  they  love  one  another,  often  make 
each  other  suffer.  Doubtless  the  Saviour's  love  for 
his  disciples  was  perfect,  like  all  his  being,  and  if  he 
suffered  it  was  never  his  fault.  But  contact  with 
souls  so  little  developed  in  faith  brought  on  him  una- 
voidable  sufferings  ;    theh'  lack   of  sympathy,  their 


340  THE   REDEEMER. 

feelings  of  pride  and  irritation,  and  later  their  shame- 
ful want  of  fidelity,  more  than  once  wonnded  his 
heart,  and  forced  from  him  words  like  these  :  ''  How 
long  shall  I  be  with  you,  0  slow  of  heart  to  believe 
and  understand  !  *' 

But  if  he  was  not  always  understood  by  his  disci- 
ples, he  was  at  least  loved  by  them,  whilst  he  was 
hated  by  the  world.  This  hatred,  however,  did  not 
burst  forth  at  the  very  first.  In  the  early  period  of 
his  ministry,  he  manifested  his  glory  to  the  Jewish 
people  ;  he  excited  among  them  a  lively  admiration, 
and  even  enthusiasm.  Hut  this  enthusiasm  was 
quickly  extinguished.  The  more  Jesus  Christ  made 
himself  known  to  men,  the  more  did  he  see  himself 
abandoned  by  them  ;  and  therein  precisely  lay  the 
great  suffering  of  this  portion  of  his  life.  It  is  hard 
to  be  solitary  in  the  bosom  of  one's  generation,  to 
speak  in  the  desert  after  having  created  among  men 
the  most  resonant  echoes.  Such  is  always,  however, 
the  condition  of  goodness  and  truth  in  this  world  up 
to  the  day  when  the  cross  which  men  are  preparing 
for  them  is  finally  planted  upon  the  earth,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  exposed  to  shame.  Jesus  Christ 
accepted  this  condition,  and  submitted  himself  thereto 
in  all  circumstances.  Let  us  follow,  my  brethren, 
with  an  attentive  eye,  the  progressive  manifestation 
of  his  doctrine  ;  at  every  revelation  we  shall  see  the 
ranks  of  his  disciples  diminish.  The  more  admirable 
he  shows  himself,  the  less  is  he  admired  ;  the  more 
brightly  his  holiness  shines  forth,  the  more  does  ad- 
miration for  him  decrease. 

Jesus  Christ  at  first  reveals  himself  as  a  powerful 


JESUS    CHBJST  AS   SACRIFICE.  341 

Messiah.  He  multiplies  his  miracles.  Nothing  was 
more  suited  to  the  object  of  the  miracle  than  to 
render  the  Jews  attentive  to  the  Saviour's  mission, 
and  to  lead  them  to  acknowledge  in  him  a  messenger 
of  God.  St.  John,  in  speaking  of  the  first  one  of  the 
works  of  Christ,  says  "  that  thus  he  manifested  forth  his 
glory."  John  ii.  11.  In  truth,  the  miraculous  cures, 
the  raising  of  the  dead,  the  sovereign  power  which 
he  wielded  over  nature,  threw  a  great  splendor  over 
his  person.  So  long  as  he  performed  many  miracles 
he  was  the  object  of  popular  favor.  "  Jesus,"  relates 
St.  Matthew,  '^  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching  in 
their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the 
kingdom,  and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness,  and  all 
manner  of  disease  among  the  people.  And  his  fame 
went  throughout  all  Syria  :  and  they  brought  unto 
him  all  sick  people  that  were  taken  with  divers  dis- 
eases and  torments,  and  those  which  were  possessed 
with  devils,  and  those  which  were  lunatic,  and  those 
that  had  the  palsy  ;  and  he  healed  them.  And  there 
followed  him  great  multitudes  of  people  from  Galilee, 
and  from  Decapolis,  and  from  Jerusalem,  and  from 
Judaea,  and  from  beyond  Jordan."  If  Jesus  Christ 
had  confined  himself  to  the  manifestation  of  his 
glory,  the  whole  people  would  certainly  have  re- 
mained faithful  to  him.  A  powerful  and  glorious 
Saviour  who  multiplies  bread  to  appease  the  hunger 
of  multitudes,  and  who  heals  the  sick,  is  sure  to  be 
accepted  by  all  the  world.  There  is  nothing  in  him 
that  jostles  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  crowd. 
Let  him  only  go  on  ;  a  few  more  miracles,  and  he  will 
be  crowned  king  ! 

29* 


342  THE   REDEEMER. 

But,  as  we  have  said,  the  miracle  is  only  the  exte- 
rior side  of  the  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  must  needs 
be  that  he  reveal  the  most  elevated  aim  of  his  mission, 
which  is  a  spiritual  aim.  And  it  is  now  that  he  is 
about  to  encounter  opposition.  St.  John  informs  us 
that,  after  having  manifested  his  glory  at  Cana,  the 
Lord  went  to  Jerusalem,  to  be  present  at  the  feast  of 
the  passover.  It  is  his  first  journey  to  Jerusalem  since 
entering  upon  his  active  ministry.  He  goes  to  the 
temple  ;  he  finds  there  the  sellers  and  the  money- 
changers, who  profaned  it,  and  drives  them  forth  igno- 
miniously  in  holy  indignation.  Jesus  Christ  appears 
no  more  simply  as  a  prophet  who  performs  miracles. 
Men  feel  that  he  is  sent  against  all  that  is  evil,  against 
all  that  is  in  opposition  to  God.  Men  feel  that  he  is 
a  religious  reformer,  and  they  remember  that  saying 
of  a  prophet,  "  The  zeal  of  thine  house  hath  eaten  me 
up."  Those  who  traffic  in  holy  things  tremble  before 
him,  and,  doubtless,  in  more  than  one  instance  im- 
placalole  hate  was  enkindled  against  him  on  that  sol- 
emn day. 

Jesus  Christ  is  a  religious  reformer,  but  it  is  neces- 
sary to  know  in  what  sense.  At  first  he  assailed  the 
grossest  and  most  palpable  abuses.  He  does  not  wish 
men  to  be  mistaken  with  regard  to  this,  and  to  con- 
ceive that  he  came  solely  to  make  clean  the  outside 
of  the  cup  and  platter.  In  his  interview  with  Nicode- 
mus,  which  took  place  at  the  same  epoch,  he  insists 
not  only  on  the  necessity  of  outward  renewal,  but  also 
upon  the  necessity  of  the  new  birth  :  "  Except  a  man 
be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  can  not  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God."    John  iii.  5.    He  announces 


JESUS    CHJRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  343 

already  that  there  is  salvation  only  in  him,  and  that 
he  is  the  only  Son  of  the  Father,  who  was  given  to  the 
world  in  order  that  whosoever  should  believe  on  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  John  iii. 
16.  This  high  doctrine  was  not  yet  understood,  but 
in  proportion  as  it  was,  in  that  proportion  did  the  Son 
of  God  encounter  a  more  lively  opposition. 

He  returns  from  Jerusalem  into  Galilee  by  Samaria, 
and  he  takes  the  occasion  of  this  journey  to  disclose  a 
new  aspect  of  his  mission,  which  will  alienate  from 
him  a  large  number  of  the  Jews.  The  bare  fact  of  his 
freely  conversing  with  a  Samaritan  woman  is  a  decla- 
ration that  he  does  not  regard  himself  as  sent  to  the 
Jews  alone.  His  words,  as  related  to  his  disciples, 
and  by  his  disciples  to  the  Jews,  are  yet  more  explicit. 
Did  he  not  aver  that  the  day  would  come  when  men 
should  no  longer  worship  at  Jerusalem  alone,  but  in 
every  place,  and  at  all  times,  they  should  offer  worship 
in  spirit  and  in  truth  to  God,  who  is  a  Spirit  ?  To 
speak  thus  was  to  cast  a  new  leaven  of  hatred  into  the 
heart  of  those  haughty  Jews,  who  profoundly  despised 
foreign  nations,  and  especially  the  Samaritans.  A 
new  revelation,  and  increasing  hatred  ! 

Returning  from  Galilee,  our  Lord  performs  several 
striking  miracles  ;  he  heals  the  son  of  Herod's  officer, 
and  the  demoniac  of  Gadara  ;  he  raises  from  the  dead 
the  daughter  of  Jairus  and  the  son  of  the  widow  of 
Nain.  Beyond  all  doubt,  these  miracles  called  forth 
lively  admiration  ;  but  as  he  did  not  manifest  his 
glory  merely,  but  manifested  his  doctrine  at  the  same 
time,  the  admiration  was  not  unmixed,  and  in  some 
minds  it  began  to  give  place  to  secret  indignation.    It 


34.1:  THE   REDEEMED. 

is  thus  that  in  the  city  of  Nazareth  they  sought  to  put 
him  to  death  because  he  had  wounded  the  national 
pride  of  the  inhabitants  by  showing  to  them  that  the 
grace  of  God  is  not  confined  within  the  limits  of  any 
one  country,  and  that  those  who  believe  themselves  to 
have  a  claim  of  natural  right  upon  it  are  deprived  of 
such  right  by  their  very  pride.  "  Many  lepers  were  in 
Israel  in  the  time  of  Eliseus  the  prophet  ;  and  none  of 
them  was  cleansed  saving  Naaman  the  Syrian."  Luke 
iv.  27.  That  touching  scene  which  occurred  in  the  house 
of  Simon  the  Pharisee,  the  pardon  so  compassionately 
granted  to  that  poor  sinful  woman,  completed  the  ex- 
asperation of  the  hatred  which  those  proud  Jews  cher- 
ished against  Jesus  Christ.  Here,  on  the  one  side,  is 
a  Pharisee,  that  is,  a  man  of  repute  in  the  nation,  a 
just  man  according  to  the  world,  who  thinks  that  he 
has  nothing  wherewith  to  reproach  himself.  Here,  on 
the  other  side,  is  a  wretched,  defiled  creature,  a  lost 
woman.  She  sheds  a  few  tears,  she  utters  a  prayer, 
and  Jesus  Christ  declares  her  to  be  justified  ;  that  is 
to  say,  she  is  placed  in  the  same  rank  with  the  right- 
eous and  virtuous  Simon  ;  nay,  more,  she  is  placed  far 
above  him,  for  she  has  loved  Him  more  who  is  alone 
worthy  to  be  loved.  So,  then,  with  his  righteousness  and 
his  good  works,  the  Pharisee  is  put  below  the  repenting 
courtesan.  He  feels  that  the  Master  will  not  say  to 
him,  as  to  her,  "  Go  in  peace,"  and  that  he  considers 
him  as  being  without  salvation.  This  practical  reve- 
lation of  free  forgiveness  i^  for  the  proud  man  the 
most  odious  of  all  things.  He  trembles  with  anger. 
Do  not  forget  that  in  the  parable  of  the  Pharisee  and 
the  publican  our  Lord  uttered  so  plain  a  commentary  on 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  345 

this  fact  that  there  could  not  possibly  be  any  further 
misconception  with  regard  to  his  real  meaning.  It  is, 
then,  well  understood  that  he  brings  forth  a  doctrine 
which  destroys  all  self-righteousness,  and  which  puts 
a  value  only  on  repentance  and  love.  Well,  then,  may 
it  be  said,  ''  A  new  revelation,  increasing  hatred  !  " 

Jesus  Christ  repairs  a  second  time  to  Jerusalem,  to 
celebrate  one  of  the  Jewish  festivals,  which  one  it  is 
not  easy  to  determine  with  precision  ;  we  only  know 
that  it  was  not  the  passover.*  The  Lord  profited  by  this 
circumstance  to  reveal  still  more  clearly  the  nature  of 
the  reform  which  he  desired  to  effect.  He  heals  a  para- 
lytic near  the  pool  of  Bethesda  on  a  Sabbath  day.  John 
V.  8.  This  was  setting  himself  in  direct  opposition  to 
Pharisaic  tradition.  That  had  befallen  them  which 
comes  to  all  those  who  have  lost  the  religious  life, 
and  who  nevertheless  wish  still  to  preserve  a  certain 
kind  of  religion.  No  longer  possessing  the  reality, 
they  cleave  to  the  appearance,  imagining  that  the  ap- 
pearance of  piety  will  secure  for  them  the  advantages 
of  piety.  They  hold  the  more  to  forms  the  more 
they  have  lost  that  which  is  essential  and  funda- 
mental in  religion.  Therefore  they  multiply  forms  in- 
definitely in  order  to  deceive  themselves  more  com- 
pletely, and  they  exaggerate  the  ceremonial  part  of 
worship,  the  better  to  conceal  the  frightful  void  in  their 
beliefs.  At  Jerusalem  there  was  an  idolatrous  at- 
tachment to  the  Sabbath,  for  the  very  reason  that  men 
had  ceased  to  worship  the  living  God.  A  profound 
faith  is  above  these  exaggerated  scruples  ;  a  religion 

*  John  V.  The  principal  Jewish  feast  would  have  the  article,  which  is 
not  given  in  the  original.  [Commentators,  however,  differ  on  this  point. 
Not  a  few  of  the  most  eminent  hold  that  it  was  the  passover.  —  Ed.  ] 


546  THE   REDEEMER. 

which  is  outward,  and  which  consists  in  observances, 
thinks  itself  lost  if  one  of  its  miserable  forms  escapes 
from  it.  To  authenticate  itself  it  needs  a  complete 
religious  equipage.  It  really  is  afraid,  if  its  equipage  is 
taken  away,  of  being  condemned  to  earnestness,  which  it 
will  not  have  at  any  price.  It  multiplies  its  fetters  and 
its  prohibitions  in  order  that  man  may  be  so  much  the 
more  free  inwardly.  Jesus  Christ,  in  placing  himself 
boldly  above  Pharisaic  traditions  concerning  the  Sab- 
bath, overthrew  that  scaifolding  which  had  been  so  labo- 
riously reared  to  mask  the  irreligion  and  the  unbelief 
reigning  in  their  hearts.  By  this  he  showed  his  de- 
sire that  religion  should  be  regarded  as  an  earnest 
and  solemn  thing,  and  that  the  faith  which  he  brought 
into  the  world  required  not  the  falsehood  of  useless 
forms  and  a  material  devotion,  but  the  gift  of  the  heart 
and  of  the  life.  A  simple  fact  like  this  of  a  cure  per- 
formed on  the  Sabbath  day  had  then  a  vast  scope  in 
its  application  ;  it  expressly  condemned  all  which  was 
taught  by  the  doctors  of  the  nation.  Thus  St.  John 
relates  that  already,  on  this  occasion,  the  Jews  sought 
to  put  him  to  death.  We  are  obliged  therefore  to  say 
again,  "  A  new  revelation,  a  hatred  that  increases  !  " 

The  Lord  returned  speedily  to  Galilee,  and  it  was 
then  that  he  pronounced  the  sermon  on  the  mount, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  the  Constitution  of  his  king- 
dom. In  this  discourse  he  sums  up  all  that  he  had 
said  and  done  from  the  beginning  of  his  ministry.  His 
opposition  to  the  formal  Judaism  of  his  day  is  mani- 
fested in  a  more  complete  and  positive  manner.  If  he 
acknowledges  that  he  has  come  to  fulfill  the  true  Ju- 
daism, that  of  tlie  law  and  the  prophets,  he  repels  with 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACUIFICE.  3  17 

indignation  the  false  and  hypocritical  Judaism,  the 
Judaism  of  tradition,  the  Judaism  of  noisy  almsgiving 
and  long  prayers,  the  merciless  observer  of  the  law  of 
retaliation,  the  shameless  violator  of  the  eternal  law  of 
God,  finding  means  to  thrust  it  aside  while  pretendhig 
to  interpret  it.  With  this  system  Jesus  Christ  breaks 
openly.  He  unmasks  it,  he  denounces  it.  He  pro- 
claims a  spiritual  law,  the  infinite  law  of  love  ;  he  an- 
nounces a  spiritual  kingdom  founded  on  the  pardon 
of  sins,  into  which  men  enter  by  tears,  by  hunger  and 
thirst  of  soul  ;  and  he  announces  sufferings  and  perse- 
cutions to  those  who  shall  enter  therein.  The  gate  is 
strait,  and  the  way  is  narrow.  To  pass  within,  one 
must  become  poor  and  small.  Evidently  Jesus  Christ 
is  not  that  which  he  had  been  thought  to  be  at  first. 
If  with  one  hand  he  raises  up  and  heals,  with  the  oth- 
er he  offers  a  cross.  "  If  any  man  will  come  after  me, 
let  him  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me."  How  can 
we  avoid  saying  once  more,  "  A  new  revelation,  a 
hatred  that  increases  !  " 

The  hour  comes  in  which  he  is  to  gather  the  fruit 
of  such  courageous  faithfulness.  Men  follow  him  still, 
because  they  love  his  miracles,  and  love  to  profit  by 
them  without  accepting  his  doctrine.  A  new  pass- 
over,  the  second  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus,  was  nigh  at 
hand.  But  since  his  hour  has  not  yet  come,  and  he  has 
everything  to  fear  from  the  Pharisees  at  Jerusalem,  ho 
rejuains  in  Galilee.  John  vi.  4.  Then  occurred  that 
significant  fact  which  is  related  in  the  sixth  chapter  of 
St.  John.  The  Lord  had  by  a  striking  miracle  satis- 
fied the  hunger  of  great  multitudes  who  had  followed 
liim  near  the  sea  of  Tiberias.     Tlie  next  day,  this 


348  THE   nEDEEMEB. 

same  people,  carried  away  with  enthusiasm  at  the  won- 
ders which  they  had  behckl,  and  hoping  to  have  found 
in  Jesus,  notwithstanding  his  declarations,  the  tempo- 
ral Messiah  whom  they  desired,  seek  him  even  as  far 
as  the  other  side  of  the  sea  of  Tiberias  :  they  find  him 
in  the  vast  synagogue  at  Capernaum  ;  they  press  about 
him.  Jesus  Christ  has  found  again  the  people  of  the 
first  days  of  his  ministry  ;  they  look  upon  him  with 
admiration;  they  celebrate  his  power;  they  would 
willingly  kiss  the  hands  that  broke  the  miraculous 
bread.  If  you  had  entered  within  that  synagogue  you 
would  surely  liave  thought  that  his  triumph  was  final. 
They  call  him  Master^  they  prepare  themselves  to  hear 
him,  to  worship  him,  perhaps.  ''  Master,"  they  say  to 
him,  "  when  camest  thou  hither  ?  "  He  speaks.  Doubt- 
less an  audience  so  well  disposed  will  not  be  able  to 
restrain  their  enthusiasm.  Let  us  listen  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Instead  of  promising  a  new  miracle,  he  speaks 
of  food  which  is  spiritual  and  everlasting.  First  disap- 
pointment ;  as  if  that  were  the  question  !  They  come 
to  him  because  they  have  been  filled,  and  he  tells  them 
to  labor  for  permanent  food  !  And  what  does  this  labor 
consist  in  ?  they  ask  of  him.  If  we  are  to  turn  aside 
from  the  good  things  of  the  earth,  it  must  needs  be,  at 
least,  that  we  can  conquer  heaven  by  our  works  ;  what 
shall  we  do  ?  Tlie  ivork  of  G-od^  answers  Jesus  Christ, 
IB  tliatye  believe.  At  this  word,  they  remember  all  that 
they  had  heard  concerning  him,  that  forgiveness  which 
he  grants  to  publicans  and  to  sinful  women.  They  be- 
gin to  treml)le  with  indignation.  But  Jesus  goes 
farther.  That  faith  must  be  directed  toward  his  per- 
son.    "  Every  one  which  seeth  the  Son  and  believeth 


JE:^US    CUBIST   AS   SACIUFICK.  CiO 

on  him  may  have  everlasting  life."  J3elieve  on  thcc, 
on  thee,  the  carpenter's  son  !  Thou  askest  too  much 
of  us.  "  Is  not  this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph,  whose 
father  and  mother  we  know?"  Without  pausing  on 
account  of  these  murmurs,  our  Lord  enters  upon  the 
most  mysterious  points  of  his  doctrine.  He  speaks  of 
his  death,  of  his  bloody  flesh  speedily  to  be  crucified, 
and  in  a  lively  image-  declares  that  they  must  eat  his 
flesh  and  drink  his  blood,  that  is,  receive  Christ  cruci- 
fied into  their  hearts,  in  order  to  live  the  eternal  life. 
His  hearers  find  themselves  quite  too  far  from  their 
starting  point.  They  came  to  ask  for  material  mira- 
cles, and  they  are  confronted  with  that  which  is  most 
spiritual,  most  offensive,  and  most  profound  in  the 
teaching  of  the  Saviour  !  He  has  now  fully  revealed 
himself.  This  is  not  the  Messiah  whom  they  desire. 
They  plainly  understand  him.  See  with  what  eager- 
ness they  withdraw  !  They  go  away  as  eager  to  de- 
part as  they  had  been  to  enter.  There  remain  but  very 
few  disciples.  At  least  those  are  faithful  friends.  He 
can  depend  upon  them.  Alas  !  several  separate  them- 
selves from  this  little  group  and  join  the  multitude. 
Then  the  Master,  seized  with  unspeakable  sadness, 
turns  himself  to  the  twelve,  saying  unto  them,  "  Will 
ye  also  go  away  ?  "  The  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ 
was  complete  ;  the  forsaking  of  him  was  almost  com- 
plete. Behold  the  result  of  that  first  period  of  his  min- 
istry !  He  has  manifested  himself  to  the  world,  and 
the  world  has  rejected  him.  What  more  fearful  judg- 
ment could  be  pronounced  upon  our  poor  humanity  ? 
The  Holy  One  and  the  Just  appeared  in  full  manifes- 
tation, just  as  he  is,  without  vail  Î     Reckon  up  those 

30 


350  THE  REDEE^Œn. 

who  remain  near  him,  and  reckon  up,  if  yoti  can,  those 
who  forsake  him  !  For  ourselves,  we  need  no  other 
proof  of  the  depth  of  our  fall.  On  the  day  when  Jesus 
Christ  fully  revealed  himself,  he  was  left  alone  with 
his  twelve  apostles,  and  one  of  them  was  a  traitor. 
Boast  thyself  still  of  thy  greatness,  of  thy  moral  dig- 
nity, 0  wretched  human  nature  !  There  needs,  in 
order  to  overwhelm  thee,  only  the  words  of  my  Saviour 
to  his  chosen  disciples,  "  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?  " 
Such  is  the  estimate  he  puts  upon  thee.  He  had  seen 
thee  so  materialized  and  so  corrupted,  that  he  doubted 
even  of  his  own.  And  do  not  forget  that  we  have  as 
yet  reached  only  the  period  when  he  was  forsaken. 
The  struggle,  the  desperate  and  mortal  struggle,  is 
about  to  commence  ;  and  if  there  still  remains  in  your 
mind  some  illusion  with  regard  to  human  nature,  ex- 
pect to  lose  it  while  considering  more  closely,  as  we 
shall  invite  you  to  do  in  our  next  discourse,  that  strug- 
gle and  its  bloody  close. 

Is  there  not,  my  brethren,  a  very  serious  appeal  to 
your  consciences  in  the  simple  narrative  of  this  first 
period  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  The  number 
of  those  at  this  day  who  imagine  that  they  belong  to 
him  is  large.  May  there  not  be  some  misconception 
existing  here,  which  it  is  important  to  dissipate  ?  For 
what  security  have  we  that  the  men  of  our  generation 
are  better  than  the  cotemporaries  of  our  Saviour  ?  Is 
human  nature  in  one  age  superior  in  itself  to  human 
nature  in  any  other  age  ?  Whence  comes,  then,  this 
eagerness  to-day,  and  that  abandonment  formerly? 
But  do  you  not  know  that  the  Saviour  also  experienced 
eagerness  and  enthusiasm  at  the  beginning  of  his  min- 


JESUS   CHPilST   AS   SACRIFICE.  351 

istry  ?  So  long  as  he  manifested  his  glory  by  miracles 
he  was  encompassed  by  the  same  crowds  that  forsook 
him  as  soon  as  his  stern  doctrine  became  known. 
May  we  not  conclude  from  this  that  the  greater  part 
of  those  who  call  themselves  Christians  to-day  have  as 
yet  considered  only  the  external  side  of  Christianity  ? 
Miracles,  properly  so  called,  are  rare  since  the  age  of 
the  apostles,  but  there  is  always  a  brilliant  side  to 
Christianity  ;  it  is  its  social  results,  its  general  influ- 
ence, its  glorious  history  ;  be  well  assured  that  the 
great  mass  of  self-styled  Christians  in  our  days,  in  all 
communions,  and  in  all  churches,  have  been  cleaving 
especially  to  this  side  and  aspect  of  the  subject.  If  it 
had  been  generally  understood  that  the  great  matter 
involved  was  conversion,  humiliation,  and  sacrifices, 
you  would  long  ago  have  seen  those  thronging  waves 
retreat,  and  leave  the  shore  dry.  Around  the  true 
representatives  of  Jesus  Christ  there  would  be  the 
same  solitude  as  formerly,  and  perhaps  the  abandon- 
ment would  be  more  complete.  Let  the  cross  be  only 
dimly  discerned  by  the  greater  part  of  the  professed 
Christians  of  the  day,  and  you  will  see  them  fly  with 
rapid  steps,  some  very  sorrowful  like  the  rich  young 
man,  others  enraged  and  furious  and  ready  to  perse- 
cute Jesus  Christ  in  the  person  of  his  true  disciples. 
I  go  farther  ;  I  will  suppose  this  divine  Saviour  to  en- 
ter this  temple,  as  he  entered  into  the  synagogue  at 
Capernaum.  I  will  suppose  him  to  speak  to  you  as  he 
spoke  to  the  Jews  ;  that  he  asks  of  you  painful  sacri- 
fices ;  that  he  clainis  from  you  an  earnest  and  consist- 
ent Christianity.  I  suppose  him  to  bring  you  his* cross, 
and  to  present  it  to  you,  not  only  that  you  may  adore 


352  THE    REDEEMER. 

it,  but,  above  all,  that  you  may  bear  it  ;  is  it  very  cer- 
tain that  you  would  all  remain  here  ?  I  suppose  that 
he  asks  you,  you,  to  renounce  a  portion,  a  large  por- 
tion, of  your  goods  for  the  poor,  —  observe  that  I  do 
not  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  he  asks  for  all  your  goods, 
—  is  it  very  sure  that  you  would  remain  ?  I  suppose 
him  to  ask  of  you,  of  you,  to  break  that  idol,  to  break 
that  connection  which  removes  you  far  from  him,  to 
renounce  that  habit  which  is  dear  to  you  ;  is  it  very 
certain  that  you  would  remain  ?  I  suppose  him,  final- 
ly, to  make  you  understand  what  he  means  by  eating 
his  flesh  and  drinking  his  blood,  and  in  what  consists 
that  identification  with  Christ  crucified  to  which  we 
are  called  ;  is  it  very  certain  that  you  would  remain, 
all  ?  Alas  !  we  have  a  sorrowful  certainty,  and  it  is, 
that  a  great  number  among  you  would  arise  and  go 
away,  like  the  inhabitants  of  Capernaum,  crying  out, 
"If  we  had  known  that  this  doctrine  was  so  stern  we 
would  never  have  come  to  embrace  it."  "  This  is  a 
hard  saying  ;  who  can  hear  it  ?  "  Might  it  please  Heaven 
that  you  should  be  thus  brought  into  the  light  regard- 
ing yourselves,  for  we  are  well  persuaded  you  would 
go  away  with  an  arrow  in  your  souls  ;  perhaps  it  would 
pierce  you  through  in  the  end,  and  bring  you  back,  laden 
with  the  weight  of  your  sins,  to  the  feet  of  the  Son  of 
David,  saying  unto  him,  "  Have  pity  on  us.  Speak  now  ; 
we  will  do  all  which  thou  shalt  say  unto  us."  May 
God  himself  be  pleased  to  deliver  you  from  your  illu- 
sions, even  though  you  should  be  forced  to  confess 
that  your  Christianity  hitherto  has  been  but  a  lie.  It 
is  the  best  wish  we  can  frame  on  your  behalf. 

I  resume  my  hypothesis.     I  will  suppose,  then,  that 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE,  3j3 

this  temple  has  been  very  nearly  emptied,  like  the 
synagogue  at  Capernaum.  There  remain  but  a  few 
true  Christians.  The  Lord  turns  himself  to  them, 
and  he  says  to  them  again,  "  Will  ye  also  go  away  ?  " 
Is  it  very  certain  that  there  would  not  be  some  hesi- 
tation on  the  part  of  several  among  them,  when  they 
should  have  understood  the  meaning  of  the  Master's  lan- 
guage with  regard  to  hearing  his  cross  2  Is  it  very  cer- 
tain— but  no;  I  do  not  admit  the  forsaking  of  Christ  on 
the  part  of  true  Cliristians.  No,  Lord  ;  hesitation  could 
not  continue  with  us,  who  have  seen  not  only  that 
which  thou  requirest  of  us,  but  also  that  which  thou 
wishest  to  give  us  in  return.  No,  we  will  not  go 
away.  Where  can  we  go  without  thee  ?  How  live, 
how  die  without  thee  ?  Feeble  as  Peter,  fallible  like 
him,  we  yet  say  with  him,  "Thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life.  And  we  believe  and  are  sure  that  thou 
art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God."  We  say, 
not  on  account  of  ourselves,  but  because  of  thee  and 
of  thy  compassions,  and  in  the  assurance  of  thine  aid, 
"  Between  thee  and  us  it  is  for  life  and  death,  it  is  for 
eternity.  Thou  wilt  grant  us  to  follow  thee  in  thy 
loneliness,  to  follow  thee  in  thy  contest,  and  even  in 
thy  death.  We  shall  thus  be  ever  with  thee,  and  after 
having  suffered  with  thee  we  shall  reign  with  thee." 

30* 


CHAPTER  XT. 

JESUS    CHRIST  AS    SACRIFICE. 

"  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world." 

—  Johni.  29. 

WE  liave  divided  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  into 
three  periods  :  his  manifestation  to  the  world, 

—  his  contest  with  the  proud  Jews,  —  the  conclusion 
of  that  contest,  or  his  passion  and  his  death.  We  have 
traversed  with  you  the  first  period  ;  we  have  seen  the 
eager  and  enthusiastic  reception  given  to  the  Saviour 
so  long  as  he  was  content  to  reveal  his  glory  hy  his 
miracles  ;  we  have  seen  him  abandoned  by  the  same 
multitudes  who  had  followed  him  even  into  the  desert, 
as  soon  as  he  manifests,  not  his  power  merely,  but  his 
holiness.  At  the  close  of  our  last  discourse  we  showed 
you  this  divine  Redeemer  remaining  alone  with  a  few 
disciples  in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum,  and  saying 
to  them,  "  And  you,  will  not  you  also  go  away  ?  " 
But  this  is  not  enough  of  abandonment.  The  open 
and  avowed  conflict  is  quickly  to  follow  it.  A  neu- 
tral position  can  not  be  maintained  with  Jesus  Christ  ; 
men  either  adore  him,  or  they  curse  him.  It  is  to 
this  fearful  conflict  between  darkness  and  light  that 
we  must  now  give  our  attention.  Substantially,  as  we 
intimated  in  the  first  of  these  discourses,  this  conflict 
has  not  yet  been  interrupted  upon  the  earth  for  a  sin- 

354 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  355 

gle  moment.  It  was  everywhere  undertaken  ;  it  was 
carried  on  in  all  ages  and  under  the  most  diverse  cir- 
cumstances. It  is  this  alone  which  imparts  an  excit- 
ing interest  to  the  history  of  humanity.  But  just  as 
in  every  war  there  comes  a  decisive  day  when  the  hos- 
tile armies  encounter  in  the  terrible  shock  of  arms,  so 
in  the  war  maintained  by  the  gower  of  love  against 
the  power  of  perdition  there  is  one  supreme  day,  the 
result  of  which  must  be  decisive.  This  fearful,  yet 
thoroughly  victorious  conflict,  is  the  combat  of  Jesus 
Christ  with  the  world.  Nothing  is  greater  or  more 
solemn.  Every  event  is  small  and  trivial  in  compari- 
son with  it.  Let  us  follow,  my  brethren,  the  phases 
of  this  incomparable  conflict  between  good  and  evil. 
Let  us  learn  to  measure  the  depth  of  our  fall  by  see- 
ing in  Jesus  Christ  dying  the  true  ideal  of  haman- 
ity,  whilst  his  enemies  and  executioners  shall  recall  to 
our  minds  the  degradation  of  our  race  ;  for  here  are 
found  the  hight  of  good  and  the  hight  of  evil.  Let  us 
learn  what  are  the  conditions  of  the  truth  here  below. 
The  disciples  can  not  be  treated  better  than  their  Mas- 
ter ;  men  will  hate  and  persecute  in  them  that  which 
they  have  cursed  and  crucified  in  him.  Truth  is  de- 
voted to  crucifixion  in  the  world  of  sin  and  unbelief. 
Let  us  learn  not  to  suffer  a  cowardly  surprise  to  seize 
upon  us  when  the  world's  opposition  to  the  gospel  re- 
appears, when  the  struggle  threatens  to  be  earnestly 
taken  up  anew.  Let  us  recognize  in  this  fact  the  ac- 
complishment of  a  permanent  law  in  religious  history. 
Let  us  learn,  finally,  from  Jesus  Christ  to  combat  as  we 
ought  to  combat,  to  conquer  as  we  ought  to  conquer, 
at  once  quiet  and  strong,  gentle  and  indomitable.     May 


356  THE   REDEEMER. 

the  picture  of  his  contest  with  evil,  in  recalling  to  us 
the  most  vital  part  in  the  work  of  redemption,  thus 
instruct  us  with  regard  to  that  which  is  momentous  in 
the  Christian's  life. 

Before  we  present  rapidly  the  principal  incidents  of 
the  combat,  let  us  pause  a  moment,  my  brethren,  to 
consider  the  strength  and  resources  of  the  respective 
combatants.  Do  not  forget  that  what  took  place  eigh- 
teen centuries  ago  at  Jerusalem  is  repeated  in  every 
epoch  of  church  history.  The  same  enemies  of  the 
truth  appear  again  under  different  names.  They  are, 
however,  less  distinguishable,  their  features  are  less 
plainly  marked,  than  in  the  gospel  history.  It  is  there 
we  are  to  seek  our  adversaries  if  we  wish  to  know 
them  well.  The  gospel  paints  them  with  such  true 
colors  that  they  can  be  thoroughly  known.  They  never 
had  a  better  opportunity  for  unvailing  their  char- 
acter. Truth  then  appeared  entirely  alone,  so  to 
speak,  without  any  external  support,  without  the  pres- 
tige of  great  victories  already  won,  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  ages.  It  was  no  way  necessary,  in  a  human 
point  of  view,  to  keep  terms  with  it  ;  men  could 
blaspheme  as  they  pleased,  and  insult  truth  at  their 
will.  There  was  no  need  to  wrap  up  a  mortal  stroke 
in  mocking  homage.  It  was  not  the  age  of  delicate 
irony  and  indirect  attack.  The  hatred  felt  for  Chris- 
tianity at  its  birth  was  combined  with  simplicity  of 
purpose  :  men  yielded  to  the  feeling  with  all  safety. 
And,  lastly,  never  were  there  historians  like  the  sacred 
historians,  with  respect  to  their  power  to  make  the 
personages  that  figure  in  their  narratives  live  before 
our  eyes.     To  narrate  thus  is  more  than  mere  narra- 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   SÂCBIFICE.  357 

tive  ;  it  is  to  revive,  it  is  to  restore  life  to  those  who 
have  lived.  By  the  power,  not  of  art  but  of  simplicity, 
they  present  us  the  facts  as  truly  living  things.  Herod, 
Caiaphas,  Pilate,  and  Judas  are  represented  so  natu- 
rally that  we  know  them  as  if  we  had  spoken  to 
them.  These  diverse  types  of  character  are  so  admi- 
rably distinguished,  these  dark  figures  are  so  expres- 
sively sketched  by  the  evangelists,  that  their  lineaments 
are  graven  upon  our  minds  in  a  manner  never  to  be 
forgotten.  The  gospel  is  not  less  wonderful  in  its  rev- 
elation of  evil  than  in  its  revelation  of  divine  love. 
And  this  is  because  it  is  almost  as  important  for  us 
thoroughly  to  know  the  former  as  to  know  the  latter. 
Let  us  profit  by  the  bright  light  which  the  sacred  narra- 
tive throws  upon  the  enemies  of  the  Saviour  to  examine 
ourselves,  and  learn  whether  we  are  not  hidden  in 
their  ranks.  The  details  already  given  concerning 
several  of  them  will  relieve  us  from  making  long  ex- 
planations. 

The  first  of  these  enemies  is  he  whom  Scripture 
calls  the  enemy  or  Satan,  the  enemy  of  all  that  is 
good,  true,  and  life-giving.  It  might  be  said  that  the 
two  great  champions  in  this  terrible  war,  which  has 
been  prosecuted  for  so  many  ages,  personally  en- 
counter each  other  at  length,  and  struggle  face  to 
face.  There  is  now  no  one  between  the  devil  and  his 
divine  adversary.  It  is  no  longer  a  few  men  placed 
under  the  influence  of  God's  Spirit  who  engage  in 
conflict  with  a  few  men  obedient  to  the  suggestions  of 
Satan.  On  the  one  side,  we  have  the  God-man,  in 
whom  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead.  On 
the  otlior,  we  have  an  accursed  humanity,  in  which 


358  THE   REDEEMER. 

dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  demons.  God,  in  hu- 
manity, confronts  Satan  likewise  in  human  form.  It 
is  a  personal  combat  between  the  chiefs  of  the  two 
armies.  Let  us  determine  in  what  manner  this  visi- 
ble "power  of  hell  was  put  forth.  And,  first,  we  have 
a  proof  of  this  which  is  at  once  palpable  and  incom- 
prehensible :  I  allude  to  demoniacal  possessions.  I 
know  well  that  at  this  day  one  seems  much  behind  in 
criticism  if  he  admits  such  possessions.  According 
to  certain  teachers,  such  could  have  been  only  a  fan- 
tastic form  of  folly,  a  very  simple  and  very  common 
fact,  and  Jesus  Christ,  in  driving  out  demons  and  in 
speaking  to  demons,  lent  himself  to  a  popular  preju- 
dice ;  it  was  an  accommodation  to  it  on  his  part. 
For  ourselves,  we  declare  that  it  is  impossible  for  us 
to  admit  any  such  doctrine  of  accommodation  with- 
out seriously  detracting  from  the  conception  which 
we  have  of  the  Saviour.  What  !  knowingly  and  will- 
ingly he  could  favor  a  gross  superstition  and  flatter  a 
stupid  prejudice  !  And,  more  than  this,  he  could  in 
appearance  drive  out  demons,  whilst  in  reality  he 
knew  perfectly  that  a  fixed  idea  is  not  a  demon  !  But 
in  that  event  he  would  have  actually  played  the  part 
of  a  comedian  ;  he  would  have  been  not  the  divine 
Revealer,  but  one  of  the  magicians  of  the  East,  so 
common  in  that  age,  who  founded  their  power  upon 
pretended  miracles.  And  if  he  were  not  a  comic 
actor,  he  would  have  been  greatly  deceived  himself  in 
a  matter  of  capital  importance,  and  we  could  no 
longer  have  absolute  confidence  in  him.  If  men  can 
thus  free  themselves  from  one  of  the  facts  with  re- 
gard to  which  the  testimony  of  the  evangelists  is  the 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  359 

most  explicit,  we  know  not  what  can  possibly  resist 
criticism.  Moreover,  this  particular  fact  has  a  moral 
significance.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  explain  how 
this  demoniac  influence  was  exerted;  but  we  under- 
stand very  well  that  in  that  supreme  crisis  of  religious 
history  the  power  of  hell,  like  that  of  heaven,  mani- 
fests itself  with  unwonted  energy.  It  behooved  it  to 
make  its  most  desperate  effort  to  destroy  God's  plan. 
After  believing  itself  the  legitimate  proprietor  of  hu- 
manity, it  felt  that  man  was  about  to  slip  away  from 
its  grasp.  Now  should  not  hell  be  shaken  in  all  its 
parts  in  order  to  repossess  itself  of  that  fatal  influ- 
ence ?  To  be  able  to  deny  the  possibility  of  a  similar 
operation  of  infernal  powers  upon  humanity,  we 
must  know  more  intimately  than  it  has  been  given  us 
to  know  the  connection  of  the  visible  with  the  invisi- 
ble world.  It  is  difficult  to  mark  with  precision  the 
limits  of  the  natural  and  the  supernatural,  and  in  the 
epochs  of  profound  and  universal  upheaval  it  might 
often  be  said  that  the  two  spheres  are  confounded  to- 
gether. However  this  may  be,  we  fully  admit  the 
demoniac  possessions  related  in  the  gospel  history. 
We  believe  that  those  possessions  were  not  discon- 
nected with  the  moral  state  of  the  sick  persons.  We 
think  that  no  cause  so  effectually  prepared  the  way 
for  this  lamentable  and  mysterious  state  as  trouble 
induced  by  sin  ;  the  disease,  doubtless,  began  in  some 
terrible  crisis  of  the  inner  life.  It  is  quite  certainly 
an  evidence  of  the  power  granted  to  Satan  to  combat 
against  the  Redeemer.  And  did  not  this  power 
equally  burst  forth  in  the  unheard-of  perversity  of 
his  enemies  ?      Evil  reaches  a  development  in  them 


360  THE   REDEEMER. 

until  then  unknown.  We  feel  that  we  are  contem- 
plating not  merely  an  ordinary  exhibition  of  sin,  but 
also  that  which  Scripture  styles  a  ''  mystery  of  iniqui- 
ty." There  are  in  truth  mysterious  depths  in  evil  which 
are  almost  as  astonishing  as  the  depths  of  goodness. 
Hell  has  its  secrets,  like  heaven,  surpassing,  crushing 
human  reason.  There  are  certain  days  on  which,  be- 
hind the  visible  combatants,  invisible  combatants  ap- 
pear, and  when  the  presence  of  demons  is  revealed, 
like  the  presence  of  God,  by  extraordinary  signs. 
The  demoniacs  that  confound  us  the  most  are  not 
those  who  were  delivered  at  the  powerful  word  of  the 
Master,  they  are  the  judges  and  the  executioners  of 
Jesus  Christ,  they  are  the  wretches  who  cried  out, 
"  Crucify  him  !  Crucify  him!  "  and  who,  beneath  the 
cross,  asked  that  his  blood  might  fall  upon  them. 
Behold  in  this  the  most  dreadful  possession  !  There 
is  an  hour  when  ih.Q  entire  Jewish  people  is  a  phren- 
sied  demoniac,  and  when  it  is  nothing  but  the  passive 
instrument  of  hell  enraged.  Nothing  proves  more 
plainly  than  their  conduct  the  direct  and  personal  in- 
tervention of  Satan  in  the  struggle. 

After  Satan,  or  rather  under  his  standard,  nearly 
all  the  men  of  elevated  rank  in  that  nation  combat 
against  Jesus.  The  privileged  classes,  the  rich,  with 
but  a  few  exceptions  easily  specified,  were  his  ene- 
mies. We  admit  that  the  rich  and  the  learned  can 
become  Christians,  and  that  every  day  they  are  con- 
verted ;  but  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  this  same  fact, 
so  noticeable  in  primitive  times,  is  constantly  repro- 
duced in  history.  A  great  scope  was  given  it  by  our 
Lord  himself  in  that  astonishing  saying,  "  It  is  easier 


JESUS    CHBTST   AS   SACRIFICE,  361 

for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than 
for  a  rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
It  is  easy  to  understand  that  those  who  desire  to  live 
splendidly  upon  the  earth,  and  who  make  use  of  their 
riches  to  nourish  their  vanity  and  augment  their 
pleasures,  are  to  be  ranked  among  the  enemies  of 
Jesus  Christ.  He  came  into  the  world  to  combat  all 
that  which  they  are  doing.  He  came  to  humble  all 
that  which  is  lofty,  to  bring  to  nothing  all  vain  ap- 
pearances, to  crush  all  worldly  influences  and  powers. 
He  came  not  only  to  enjoin  patience  on  those  who 
suffer,  but  also  renunciation  on  those  who  rejoice. 
He  says  to  them  all,  "  Give  your  goods,  sell  them  for 
the  poor  ;  "  that  is,  place  your  lives  and  your  goods  at 
the  service  of  God  and  of  suffering  humanity.  How 
can  you  expect  that  those  believing  that  riches  are 
given  to  them  in  order  that  they  be  clothed  in  fine 
linen,  and  live  sumptuously  and  be  insolent  towards 
the  poor,  should  not  be  enraged  ?  At  first  they  go 
away  very  sorrowful,  like  the  rich  young  man  in  the 
Gospel,  but  quickly  they  return  exasperated  to  fury, 
and  they  are  the  first  to  ask  for  the  death  of  him  who 
made  the  parable  of  Lazarus  and  the  wicked  rich 
man,  and  who  preferred  the  widow's  mite  to  their 
haughty  and  resounding  alms.  Let  the  rich  of  this 
day  examine  themselves  very  thoroughly  to  learn 
whether  they  are  for  or  against  Jesus  Christ.  The 
only  way  for  them  to  be  enlightened  on  this  point  is 
for  them  to  inquire  if  they  have  become  poor  in 
spirit  ;  for  every  rich  man  who  has  remained  rich  in 
heart  is  very  surely  in  the  ranks  of  the  adversaries 
of  our  Lord. 

31 


362  THE    REDEEMER. 

The  high  council  of  the  nation  signalized  itself  above 
all  by  its  animosity  against  Jesus  Christ.  How  often 
have  men  elevated  in  authority  played  this  sad  part 
anew!  Earthly  dignities, when  they  are  not  received  as 
a  high  mission  of  charity,  become  the  pedestal  of  the 
great  idol,  of  the  human  Jso  universally  adored.  They 
raise  pride  to  a  degree  of  real  intoxication.  The  con- 
sideration and  flattery  with  which  they  are  encom- 
passed surround  them  with  a  triple  rampart  against 
humility.  When  Jesus  Christ  appears  announcing 
universal  condemnation  and  free  forgiveness,  the  great 
ones  of  this  world  who  love  that  seeming  grandeur 
tremble  with  indignation  at  being  thus  abased  ;  they 
charge  the  gospel  with  being  an  overturning  of  soci- 
ety, a  leaven  of  revolution,  and  their  place  is  fixed 
among  the  enemies  of  true  Christianity.  But  the  most 
implacable  adversaries  of  the  gospel  were  found  among 
those  who  were  clothed  with  religious  authority.  The 
body  of  the  priesthood  were  signalized  by  their  violent 
hatred  toward  the  Saviour.  Nothing  was  more  natu- 
ral ;  those  who  make  a  traffic  of  religion,  and  derive 
from  it  their  glory  and  their  profit,  denounce  as  usurp- 
ers whoever  assail  their  credit  by  any  religious  reform. 
Jesus  Christ,  bringing  into  the  world  the  universal _ 
priesthood,  was  the  living  condemnation  of  the  priestly 
spirit,  and  whenever  this  spirit  has  not  succeeded  in 
prevailing  over  the  gospel,  or  in  perverting  it,  it  has 
not  been  able  to  find  anathemas  and  thunderbolts 
enough  to  curse  and  destroy  the  gospel. 

We  have  already,  on  several  occasions,  named  the 
Pharisees.  They  were  conspicuous  in  the  struggle 
against  Jesus  Christ.     What  concord,  in  fact,  is  possi- 


J£SUS    CHFdST  AS    SACRIFICE.  3G3 

ble  between  a  formal  religion  and  the  religion  of  the 
Spirit?  The  Pharisees  felt  that  that  thrice  dead 
mummy  which  they  wrapped  about  in  sacred  fillets, 
and  called  religion,  would  fall  into  the  dust  at  the  first 
breath.  They  felt  that  their  hypocrisy  was  unmasked 
by  the  simple  appearance  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  in 
the  presence  of  his  holiness  the  falsehood  of  an  exter- 
nal piety  was  clearly  unvailed.  They  felt  that  their 
kingdom  was  at  an  end  wherever  Jesus  Christ  should 
triumph.  Do  they  not  feel  this  still  to-day  wherever 
they  are  found  ?  Between  them -and  Jesus  Christ  the 
struggle  is  even  unto  death,  for  he  pursues  them  from 
one  defense  to  another.  From  Judaism  the  Pharisee 
passed  into  the  outward  church  ;  he  went  there  with 
his  long  robe,  his  long  prayers,  and  his  traditions. 
From  the  great  unbelieving  church  he  passed  into  the 
churches  of  tlie  Reformation  ;  he  established  himself  in 
them  ;  he  has  fashioned  them,  in  the  course  of  time, 
more  or  less  completely  to  his  purposes  ;  he  re-appears 
in  every  church,  even  in  the  best  organized,  and,  if 
need  be,  he  seizes  upon  that  which  is  most  anti-phari- 
saical  in  its  doctrines  and  its  institutions  in  order  to 
insinuate  his  deadly  formalism.  He  may  be  recognized 
by  his  self-satisfaction,  the  cold  and  sterile  uniformity 
of  his  piety,  his  dry  and  haughty  dogmatism,  his  joy 
at  not  being  like  other  men,  his  severity  in  judgment, 
and  his  hardness  of  heart.  Such  is  the  immortal 
Pharisee,  the  open  or  hidden  enemy  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  all  communions.  God  grant  that  he  be  not  hero 
listening  to  us,  and  applauding  himself  because  our 
words  do  not  concern  him  at  all  ! 

With  regard  to  the  Sadducee,  he  was  the  liberal 


364  THE   REDEEMER. 

mind,  the  philosopher  of  Jerusalem.  He  rejected  the 
greater  part  of  revelation  with  the  ease  of  a  superior 
intelligence.  He  was  not  a  precise  devotee,  he  was  a 
man  of  pleasure,  with  elegant  manners.  Does  it  not 
seem  that,  at  least,  he  will  be  tolerant,  and  not  join 
himself  to  the  bitter  enemies  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  Why 
should  he  unite  on  this  point  with  hypocritical  devo- 
tees, he  who  knows  so  well  how  to  rally  them  on  occa- 
sion, he  who  is  a  liberal  philosopher?  That  then  oc- 
curred, my  brethren,  which  has  occurred  in  all  epochs 
of  the  history  of  the  church  ;  free-thinkers  have  always 
made  common  cause  with  formalists,  in  order  to  extir- 
pate true  Christianity  from  this  world.  They  hate  it  as 
much.  Jesus  Christ  has  had  as  much  reason  to  complain 
of  the  first  as  of  the  last.  It  is  because  he  came  to 
trouble  their  voluptuous  life,  and  to  disturb  their  con- 
venient philosopliy.  He  came  to  speak  of  judgment  to 
those  who  were  saying,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to- 
morrow we  die."  He  was  a  terrible  witness  to  that 
invisible  world  which  they  wished  to  forget.  It  was 
quite  needful,  therefore,  to  free  themselves  of  him  in 
order  to  resume  their  life  of  pleasure.  Let  not  men 
be  deceived  ;  the  materialist  philosopher  is  at  bottom 
of  the  same  mind  with  the  Sadducee  of  Jerusalem, 
and  beneath  his  fine  words  and  his  hypocritical  hom- 
age there  lurks  an  inveterate  hatred  toward  the  cross. 
To-day  it  manifests  itself  only  by  disdainful  smiles  and 
the  expression  of  inward  satisfaction  at  not  believing, 
like  simple  people,  in  the  letter  of  the  gospel.  But  let 
the  requirements  of  Christianity  make  themselves  felt 
by  our  unbelieving  philosophers  in  an  earnest  manner, 
let  them  be  brought  face  to  face  with  a  true  church 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  365 

bearing  its  cross,  and  you  will  hear  roars  of  rage  com- 
ing forth  from  those  men  so  exquisite  in  style,  so  lib- 
eral in  spirit,  those  Athenians  of  philosophy.  We 
know  what  the  tolerance  of  free-thinkers  is  worth, 
since  a  vast  number  of  them  were  seen  crying  out  for 
the  blood  of  the  Just  One,  and  since  especially  he  was 
delivered  up  to  be  crucified  by  a  skeptical  philosopher 
whom  no  one  surely  will  accuse  of  fanaticism  after  his 
disdainful  question,  ''  What  is  truth  ?  " 

A  strange  thing  !  After  the  rich,  the  men  high  in 
dignity,  the  priests,  the  Pharisees,  the  Sadducees,  the 
mass  of  the  people,  also,  take  sides  against  Jesus 
Christ.  They  went  on  to  such  a  degree  of  delusion 
and  of  rage  as  to  ask  the  deliverance  of  a  wretched 
robber  in  order  to  be  very  sure  that  Jesus  Christ  should 
not  escape  the  most  shameful  death.  This  people,  it 
would  seem,  can  have  no  pretext  for  this  rage.  Jesus 
Christ  never  despised  them.  He  only  did  them  good. 
And  more  than  once  this  same  people  had  shown  their 
gratitude.  They  followed  him  ;  they  seemed  to  love 
him.  They  even  had,  but  a  few  days  before  the  pass- 
over,  a  return  of  their  enthusiasm.  It  avails  little.  It 
needed  only  a  few  agents  of  the  Sanhedrim,  a  few 
Pharisees  mingling  with  them,  to  raise  the  entire  peo- 
ple against  their  benefactor,  like  a  furious  sea  beneath 
the  sudden  impulsion  of  the  wind.  It  is  they  who  in 
the  end  furnished  the  adversaries  of  Jesus  Christ  with 
an  army  all  ready  for  their  work.  The  history  of  this 
weak  and  cruel  people  is  the  history  of  all  who  belong 
to  the  multitude  of  professed  Christians,  without  hav- 
ing given  themselves  to  the  Saviour  by  an  individual 
act.     There  is  no  root  in  their  attachment  to  his  per- 

31* 


S66  THE   REDEEMER. 

son  ;  they  follow  Lim  to-day  for  the  same  reason  which 
will  urge  them  to  abandon  him  to-morrow.  Since 
there  is  nothing  of  earnestness  in  their  faith,  as  soon 
as,  in  order  to  follow  Jesus  Christ,  it  will  become  ne- 
cessary to  pass  by  the  governor's  hall  and  Calvary, 
they  will  not  hesitate,  they  will  be  with  the  persecu- 
tors against  the  persecuted,  and  who  knows  if  they 
will  not  be  in  the  number  of  the  most  violent  ?  They 
will  go  to  the  very  end  of  the  impulse  received.  Pass- 
ive instruments  of  the  wrath  of  others,  they  will  basely 
serve  that  wrath,  and  will  not  stop  even  when  con- 
fronted by  crime.  Always,  even  unto  the  end  of  time, 
shall  we  see  the  undecided  and  wavering  multitude 
turn  in  the  day  of  peril  against  Christ,  and  curse  him 
whom  they  were  coming  to  adore.  Whoever  has  not 
separated  himself  from  them  by  a  positive  and  regene- 
rative act  that  divided  his  life  in  two,  is  a  latent 
enemy  of  Jesus  Christ,  whom  circumstances  sooner  or 
later  will  bring  to  light.  Satan  counts  upon  him, 
and  will  know  how  to  find  him  again  in  his  day. 

But  whom  have  I  seen  among  the  adversaries  of  Je- 
sus Christ  ?  An  apostle,  one  of  the  twelve,  a  compan- 
ion of  the  Saviour.  What  !  is  it  not  enough  that  so 
many  enemies  should  be  leagued  against  him  ?  must  a 
cowardly  defection  weaken  the  ranks  of  his  most  natural 
defenders  ?  Let  it  not  be  imagined  that  we  have  here 
the  execution  of  a  fatal  decree,  which,  relieving  Judas 
of  his  responsibleness,  throws  upon  Jesus  Christ  the 
charge  of  having  chosen  him  in  order  more  effectually 
to  ruin  him,  —  a  supposition  which  no  theology  in  the 
world  could  induce  us  to  accept,  and  which  encounters 
the    sovereign   ban    of   conscience.     The   mystery   is 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  367 

great  ;  who  doubts  it  ?  We  accept  it  all,  provided  it 
be  not  employed  to  overthrow  the  moral  world.  Let 
it  be  well  considered  that  Christianity  can  not  survive 
that,  and  with  it  it  is  either  sustained  or  overthrown. 
Jesus  Christ  chose  Judas  to  make  of  him  an  apostle, 
and  not  a  demon,  and  if  he  became  a  demon,  seek  for 
the  cause  only  in  himself.  God,  who  deduces  good 
from  evil,  finally  made  use  of  him  as  he  makes  use  of 
Satan  himself;  but  he  no  more  willed  the  crime  of  Ju- 
das than  he  willed  the  existence  of  hell.  The  apos- 
tle's defection  remains,  then,  a  moral  fact,  and  it  con- 
veys to  us  a  terrible  warning.  Here  is  a  man  who, 
doubtless,  experienced  at  first  a  certain  drawing  to- 
wards Christ,  and  in  whom  the  Master  discerned  cer- 
tain inclinations  compatible  with  a  great  mission. 
During  nearly  three  years  this  man  was  with  Jesus 
Christ,  and  yet  he  it  was  who  sold  him.  He  suffered 
the  most  deplorable  propensities  to  gain  the  ascend- 
ency in  him,  and  sought  to  gratify  them  in  the  service 
of  the  Master.  He  asked  of  him  glory  and  power,  and 
when  he  saw  shame  and  the  cross  coming  in  their 
stead  he  wished  to  recompense  himself  for  the  disap- 
pointment, and  he  received  the  thirty  pieces  of  sil- 
ver. In  like  manner  as,  in  all  ages,  the  world  has 
found  men  like  Caiaphas  to  plot  against  Christ,  and 
Pilate  to  condemn  him,  an  ungrateful  people  to  ask 
for  his  death  ;  so  Judases  have  always  been  found 
to  betray  him.  There  are  few  churches  which  can 
hear  without  legitimate  terror  these  words  of  our 
Lord  :  "  One  of  you  shall  betray  me."  Ah  !  how  not 
work  out  one's  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling  when 
that  saying  is  remembered  !     Tliere  has  always  been 


368  THE   lîEDEEMER. 

found  some  one  to  betray  when  that  was  necessary  for 
Satan's  plans.  My  God  !  let  it  not  be  any  one  of  us, 
for,  of  all  evils,  the  greatest,  the  most  frightful,  is  to 
betray  the  Saviour.  Let  us  serve  him  for  himself,  for 
himself  alone,  with  no  thought  of  personal  advantage 
or  of  human  glory,  and  then  we  shall  be  able  to  say- 
that  the  devil  hath  nothing  in  us. 

Such,  my  brethren,  are  the  enemies  of  Jesus  Christ. 
They  are  numerous,  they  are  skillful,  they  hold  in 
their  hands  power  and  credit,  they  have  a  traitor  upon 
whom  they  can  depend.  They  are  stopped  by  no  scru- 
ple. Jesus  Christ,  on  the  contrary,  is  alone  with  a 
few  disciples,  who  will  speedily  flee  away  ;  he  has  no 
external  power  ;  he  desires  none  ;  he  puts  it  far  from 
him.  How  will  he  be  able  to  resist  such  formidable 
enemies  ?  His  very  weakness  is  his  strength  ;  weak 
on  the  human  side,  he  is  all-powerful  in  regard  to 
God.  He  is  one  with  the  Father,  and  this  oneness 
renders  him  invincible.  He  does  not  wish  for  human 
skill,  because  he  has  but  one  desire,  which  is  to  reveal 
the  whole  truth.  Finally,  he  has  a  charity  which  even 
the  rage  of  hell  can  not  change.  Therefore,  the  Lamb 
of  God  is,  at  the  same  time,  that  Lion  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  which  prophecy  has  shown  us  going  forth  in 
his  strength. 

Now  that  we  know  the  combatants,  let  us  contem- 
plate the  combat.  It  will  be  easy  to  bring  rapidly  be- 
fore our  minds  its  successive  phases. 

The  first  period  in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  had 
ended  in  the  synagogue  at  Capernaum.  He  knows 
that  henceforth  the  conflict  will  be  joined  and  main- 
tained without  interruption  until  the  hour  of  his  death. 


JESUS   CIiniST  AS   SACRIFICE.  369 

He  wishes  to  prepare  his  disciples  and  to  prepare 
himself  for  those  weighty  occurrences,  and  he  with- 
draws with  them  far  from  the  ordinary  theater  of  his 
activity.  This  he  has  always  done  on  the  eve  of  the 
great  crises  in  his  life.  Our  Saviour's  need  of  solitude 
is  remarkable.  He  can  never  do  without  the  desert;  it 
is  there  that  he  will  gather  up  new  strength  for  the  days 
of  trial.  He  shows  by  this  that  the  source  of  all  fruit- 
ful activity,  like  the  source  of  all  mighty  rivers,  is  hid- 
den in  solitary  places  ;  that  it  gushes  forth  down  pre- 
cipitous hights,  far  from  the  noises  of  the  world.  Let 
not  the  church  forget  the  Master's  example,  and,  like 
him,  let  it  frequently  have  its  vigils  of  arms  in  the 
desert  ;  let  her  take  refuge,  before  engaging  in  com- 
bat, in  the  holy  solitude  of  divine  communion  ;  let  her 
often  return  thither  ;  and  let  her  say  to  herself  that 
if  the  Master  felt  the  need  of  this,  much  more  ought 
his  disciples  to  bathe  themselves  in  God,  and  to  renew 
their  spiritual  strength  in  silence  and  solitude. 

Jesus  Christ  crossed  over  the  lake  of  Gennesaret 
to  go  by  the  north  into  Galilee,  to  Cassarea  Phil- 
ippi.  On  this  journey  he  took  occasion  to  converse 
with  his  disciples  concerning  the  mission  which  they 
had  fulfilled  in  his  name  in  the  villages  of  Judaea  and 
Galilee,  and  by  wliich  he  had  designed  to  give  them 
practical  instruction  with  regard  to  the  work  to  which 
they  were  called.  He  perceives  that,  notwithstanding 
the  weakness  of  their  faith,  they  are  evidently  raised 
above  the  prejudices  of  their  cotemporaries,  and  he 
shows  in  connection  with  Peter's  saying,  '-  Thou  art 
the  Christ,  tlie  Son  of  the  living  God,"  that  the  ex- 
plicit and  courageous  confession  of  his  name  will  be, 


370  THE    liEDEEMER. 

in  all  ages,  the  foundation-rock  of  the  church.  At 
the  same  time  he  plainly  announces  his  death  to  his  dis- 
ciples. After  that  epoch  he  frequently  discourses  to 
them  concerning  it.  He  desired  to  prepare  them  for 
it,  and  also  to  make  them  understand  that  that  death 
is,  on  his  part,  a  willing  sacrifice,  of  which  he  was  fully 
conscious.  The  prophetic  words  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
this  subject  are  of  very  great  importance.  He  was 
the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world,  because  he  foresaw  and  accepted  his  death. 
On  the  northern  frontier  of  Galilee,  he  met  with  a 
Canaanitish  woman  whose  persevering  faith,  leaving  us 
the  most  admirable  example  of  importunate  prayer, 
obtained  from  his  power  an  illustrious  miracle.  The 
miracle  of  the  transfiguration  occurred  on  the  return 
from  this  journey.  Have  you  observed  what  was  the 
subject  of  the  Interview  which  Moses  and  Elias  had 
with  Jesus  Christ  during  that  hour  of  glory,  encom- 
passed by  the  heavenly  light  ?  They  spoke,  we  are 
told,  of  his  death  and  of  his  crucifixion.  This  is  an 
additional  proof  that  this  period  of  retirement  was, 
for  the  Saviour,  a  time  of  solemn  preparation  for  the 
bitter  sufferings  which  awaited  him. 

After  having  thus  strengthened  himself  upon  the 
glorious  mount,  and  received  the  signal  testimony  of 
his  Father,  Jesus  Christ  repairs  to  Jerusalem.  Going 
to  Jerusalem  is  going  to  the  combat  ;  he  knows  it  ;  but 
the  moment  has  come  to  meet  it  with  indomitable 
energy.  All  details  I  put  aside,  confining  myself  to 
the  general  outlines.  I  shall  especially  seek  to  bring 
out  the  Saviour's  attitude  in  this  struggle,  the  bloody 
close  of  which  was  known  to  him. 


JFSUS   CIIRIS2'  AS  SACRIFICE.  371 

He  enters  the  holy  city  at  the  time  of  celebrating 
one  of  the  great  Jewish  festivals,  the  feast  of  taber- 
nacles. He  knows  that  since  the  miracle  of  healing 
performed  on  the  Sabbath  day  he  has  implacable  ene- 
mies in  Jerusalem  ;  he  knows  that  they  have  the  power 
to  injure  him.  If  he  consulted  human  prudence,  he 
would  be  quiet  ;  since  for  him  to  speak,  to  announce 
his  doctrine,  is  to  put  himself  in  opposition  to  the  San- 
hedrim. What  will  he  do  ?  St.  John  informs  us  by 
relating  the  language  of  some  of  his  hearers  :  "  Is  not 
this  he,"  said  the  Jews,''  whom  they  seek  to  kill  ?  but 
lo,  he  speaketh  boldly."  You  hear  it  ;  he  speaketh 
openly.  He  does  not  teach  in  secret  ;  no,  he  enters 
the  temple,  where  the  multitude  flowed  together,  and 
proclaims  his  doctrine,  in  the  very  faces  of  his  adver- 
saries, with  astonishing  force.  He  has  thus  taught  us 
what  position  the  church  ought  to  take  in  this  great, 
ever  renewed  combat  of  truth,  and  with  what  bold 
fidelity  it  ought  to  reply  to  the  threats  of  its  enemies. 
He  who  speaks  openly  at  Jerusalem  is  he  who  said  on 
a  recent  occasion,  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which 
are  Cœsar's."  He  showed  by  his  example  that  his  dis- 
ciples should  acknowledge  established  authority,  and 
submit  to  its  requirements,  so  long  as  it  does  not  in- 
fringe upon  the  rights  of  God.  But  the  same  consci- 
entious motive  which  leads  them  to  obey  within  these 
limits,  constrains  them  to  disobey  as  soon  as  they  are 
passed  over.  Jesus  speaks  openly  because  it  is  a  duty 
for  him  to  speak  when  the  salvation  of  souls  is  in- 
volved. The  great  Envoy  of  the  Father,  the  messen- 
ger of  his  love,  can  not  keep  silence.  What  !  because 
it  has  pleased  a  few  sinful  men  to  put  the  truth  under 


372  THE  REDEEMER. 

interdict,  and  to  enjoin  silence  on  its  witness  and 
representative,  should  he  be  silent?  He  knows  that 
he  brings  to  lost  souls  a  word  of  healing,  and  should 
he  be  silent  ?  God  has  said  to  him,  "  Comfort,  com- 
fort my  people,"  and  can  he  keep  silence  ?  He  has 
seen  that  people  like  lost  sheep  in  the  desert,  and  can 
he  be  silent  ?  Let  those  who  have  no  life-giving  word 
to  utter  be  still  and  prudent.  Jesus  Christ  will  speak; 
he  will  speak  openly,  because  he  has  the  words  of  eter- 
nal life,  and  men  will  hear  him  cry  out,  two  paces  off 
from  the  priests  and  the  doctors,  who  are  determined 
to  imprison  him,  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come 
unto  me  and  drink  !  "  He  will  not  go  to  man  to  ask 
permission  to  save  and  unbind  \ouls.  He  will  speak 
openly  of  the  claims  of  divine  love,  and  of  his  own  char- 
ity; he  will  speak  in  like  manner  in  all  circumstances, 
before  his  judges  as  before  his  disciples  ;  his  voice  will 
be  stifled  only  in  his  blood,  and  from  that  blood  itself 
shall  be  lifted  up  a  testimony  more  powerful  than  all 
his  discourses.  Thus  will  speak  all  those  who  shall 
have  a  doctrine  of  salvation  to  announce  to  the  world 
that  perisheth  ;  they  can  not  keep  silence.  They  will 
not  be  able  to  keep  back  the  good  news  of  forgiveness, 
and  whoever  can  keep  it  to  himself,  under  pretense 
that  he  is  forbidden  to  proclaim  it,  proves  by  that  act 
that  he  has  not  himself  received  it.  This  freedom  in 
bearing  witness  to  the  gospel  is  not  only  the  fulfillment 
of  a  duty,  but  it  is  also  the  secret  of  an  irresistible 
power.  It  develops  such  a  strength  of  conviction 
that  it  draws  to  itself  souls  which  feel  the  need  of  vital 
and  solid  belief.  It  is  as  the  seal  of  a  divine  mis- 
sion.    Thus  we  hear  the  people  crying  out  when  they 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  373 

listen  to  Jesus  Christ,  ''  Of  a  truth  this  is  the  Proph- 
et." This  courage  produces  an  indelible  impres- 
sion upon  the  hearts  of  men  ;  it  places  him  who  ex- 
hibits it  above  all  forms  of  difficulty  and  of  opposition. 
May  the  church  of  our  times  not  deprive  itself  of  the 
power  to  be  derived  from  indomitable  fidelity  ! 

Our  Lord  not  only  announced  the  good  news  of 
salvation  ;  he  also  openly  contended  against  error. 
With  regard  to  his  apologetic,  we  have  seen  how  he 
established  the  truth  of  his  doctrine  by  appealing  to 
the  consciences  of  his  hearers.  We  have  already  re- 
marked how  often  his  sayings  were  stamped  with 
severity.  But  he  went  still  further.  He  did  not  con- 
tent himself  with  showing  in  a  general  way  that 
unbelief  had  its  origin  in  sin.  He  assailed  the  men 
of  his  day,  he  characterized  them  as  they  deserved, 
he  censured  the  specific  form  of  sin  or  error  which  he 
encountered.  He  unmasked  his  adversaries,  he  even 
hurled  against  them  terrible  anathemas.  His  word 
had  a  keen  edge  for  false  teachers  and  hypocrites. 
Run  over  the  discourses  which  he  delivered  at  this 
period,  and  which  are  contained  in  tlie  eighth,  ninth, 
and  tenth  chapters  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  and  you  will 
perceive  that  never  has  more  controversial  vigor  been 
manifested  than  by  Jesus  Christ.  "  Ye  are  from  be- 
neath, I  am  from  above  ;  ye  are  of  your  flither  the 
devil,  and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do."  John 
viii.  "  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypo- 
crites !  for  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against 
men  !  Ye  devour  widows'  houses  !  Ye  fools  and 
blind  ;  ye  blind  guides  which  strain  at  a  gnat  and 
swallow  a  camel.     Ye  are  like   unto  whited   sepul- 

32 


374  THE   REDEEMER. 

cliers.  Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can 
ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ?  "  Matt.  xxv.  Is 
this  the  lowly  and  gentle  Master  who  speaks  ?  Is  it 
Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  the  friend  of  the  afflicted, 
he  who  takes  up  little  children  to  bless  them  ?  Yes, 
my  brethren,  it  is  ever  assuredly  the  Saviour.  Not 
satisfied  with  affirming  the  truth,  he  denounced  in 
indignant  language  the  false  teachers  of  his  day  :  he 
did  not  share  the  scruples  entertained  by  so  many 
Christians  who  are  easily  scandalized  by  any  lively 
attack  upon  the  psrverters  of  our  holy  religion.  The 
example  of  Jesus  Christ  teaches  us  that  the  church 
in  its  contests  for  the  truth  can  not  dispense  with 
vigorous  controversy.  Doubtless  it  should  be  ele- 
vated, like  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  it  ought  to-be  ear- 
nest, it  ought  to  be  constantly  directed  to  the  heart 
and  conscience  ;  but  let  it  be  energetic  and  incisive. 
To  affirm  the  truth  is  without  doubt  the  first  duty  of 
the  church.  She  ought  to  build  ;  her  work  is  essen- 
tially positive  ;  but  she  ought  also  to  destroy.  It 
would  not  suffice  to  set  forth  the  gospel  unless  the 
doctrines  opposed  to  it  are  overthrown.  The  human 
heart  is  so  abundant  in  illusions,  that  it  would  seek 
to  reconcile  error  with  truth,  if  it  were  not  clearly 
placed  in  a  position  where  it  was  obliged  to  choose 
between  the  two.  It  is  necessary,  then,  that  Chris- 
tians strongly  protest  against  every  departure  from 
the  truth,  and  that  they  indicate  aloud  and  with  un- 
mistakable emphasis  that  which  to  them  seems  op- 
posed to  the  gospel.  So  long  as  they  have  not 
fulfilled  this  duty,  they  are  more  or  less  responsible 
for  the  misconceptions   authorized   by  their   silence. 


JESUS   CHU  1ST  AS  SACRIFICE,  375 

And  how  avoid  protesting  with  some  warmth  when 
one  knows  the  worth  of  souls  and  sees  them  led 
astray  by  the  devices  of  the  devil  ?  Let  those  who 
judge  spiritual  blindness  to  be  without  danger,  em- 
ploy all  possible  devices  to  undeceive  their  erring 
brethren.  But  we  who  think  such  blindness  deadly, 
we  shall  tear  off  with  hands  that  may  seem  rude  that 
covering  which  is  upon  their  eyes.  If  we  are  cen- 
sured as  wanting  in  charity,  let  men  understand  that 
the  reproach  is  hurled  at  Jesus  Christ  himself,  for  our 
language  can  never  equal  the  burning  indignation  of 
his  words.  For  ourselves,  we  feel  in  this  the  same 
love  which  caused  him  to  weep  over  the  unbelief  of 
Jerusalem.  Thus  weeping  over  it,  how  could  he  fail 
to  experience  a  holy  indignation  against  those  who 
instigated  its  rebellion  ? 

To  speak  freely,  to  denounce  openly  the  false 
doctors  of  his  day,  was  not  enough  for  Jesus  Christ. 
He  did  not  cease  for  one  moment  to  do  good,  and  his 
works  of  compassion  dealt  the  most  powerful  blows 
to  his  adversaries.  They  also  precipitated  the  ter- 
mination of  the  conflict.  The  wonderful  healing  of 
the  man  born  blind  excited  great  astonishment  in  the 
people,  and  consequently  great  rage  in  the  Sanhedrim, 
which  was  yet  further  augmented  by  the  simplicity 
and  candor  of  the  testimony  given  by  the  healed 
blind  man.  Our  Lord  thought  fit  a  second  time  to 
withdraw  from  the  hatred  of  his  enemies.  He  re- 
paired anew  to  Galilee  ;  but  he  abode  there  only  a 
short  time,  and  returned  through  Samaria  to  Jerusa- 
lem for  the  feast  of  the  dedication.  The  opposition 
between  him  and  the  Jews  was  more  decided  than 


376  THE   REDEEMEB. 

ever.     Ho  escaped  several  murderous  attempts,  and 
withdrew  with  his  disciples  into  Peraea,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan.     There  he  learns  the  news  of  the  sick- 
ness of  Lazarus.     He  braves  all  dangers,  that  he  may 
go  and  comfort  the  sisters  of  his  friend,  and  raises 
him  from  the  dead  in  the  presence  of  a  great  number 
of  the  Jewish  people.     This  miracle,  performed  at  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem,  completes  the  fury  of  his  ene- 
mies.    They  fully  determined  to  secure   his  death  ; 
and  we  now  enter  upon  the  third  period  of  his  min- 
istry, which  embraces  his  last  journey  to  Jerusalem, 
his  passion  and  his  death.     Thus,  notwithstanding  all 
the   dangers  which   encompassed   him,  Jesus  Christ 
continued  his  mission  of  charity.     He  did  not  suffer 
himself  to  be  absorbed  in  his  controversy  with  the 
Pharisees  ;    he    sought   to    do   good,   to   comfort   the 
afflicted,  to  heal  the  sick,  as  during  the  first  period  of 
his  ministry.     Nothing  could  turn  him  aside  from  his 
work  of  scattering  benefits.     A  sublime  example  for 
the  church  militant,  which  possesses  no  better  weap- 
ons of  defense  and  of  conquest   than   her   charity  ! 
Let  us  take  heed  never  to  neglect  the  work  of  conso 
lation  which  we  have  in  charge,  under  pretense  that 
we  must  reply  to  urgent   attacks.     Let   us   answer 
them,  like  Jesus  Christ,  by  opening  the  treasures  of 
grace,  and  dispensing  them  with  the  utmost  liberal- 
ity.    The  enemies  of  Christianity  are  effectually  van- 
quished by  this  answer  of  charity,  which  demonstrates 
irresistibly  the  excellence  of  that  religion  which  they 
calumniate,  and  lays  a  coal  of  fire  upon  their  heads. 

The  adversaries  of  our  Saviour  very  plainly  acknowl- 
edge themselves  vanquished  by  him,  since  they  could 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  SACRIFICE.  377 

oppose  nothing  to  his  last  miracles  but  an  abominable 
crime.  What  a  frightful  part  they  play  during  all  this 
struggle  !  While  Jesus  contends  against  them,  preach- 
ing his  doctrine  openly,  consoling  the  afflicted,  heal- 
ing the  sick,  and  attacking  the  unworthy  leaders  of 
the  nation,  the  latter  are  employing  the  most  treacher- 
ous means  for  his  destruction  ;  deceit  and  violence  are 
their  only  weapons.  At  one  time,  they  prepare  snares 
for  Jesus  Christ,  and  accuse  him  falsely  ;  at  another, 
they  urge  the  people  to  stone  him.  They  have  no 
other  argument  wherewith  to  oppose  him  save  this 
senseless  argument  of  brutal  force.  When  our 
Lord  has  overthrown  them  by  a  final  and  most  illustri- 
ous miracle,  they  summon  against  him  murder  and 
treason.  He  must  die  !  such  is  their  conclusion.  To 
buy  up  Judas,  to  pay  for  false  witnesses,  such  is  their 
policy.  They  do  not  suspect  that  they  are  thus  con- 
structing one  of  the  most  powerful  arguments  in  favor 
of  Christianity  :  in  placing  themselves  upon  the  ground 
of  violence  and  deceit  they  have  shown  that  Christian- 
ity can  be  trammeled  only  by  infamous  and  abomina- 
ble means,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  overcome  it  in 
an  honorable  warfare. 

We  have  reached  the  final  period  in  the  ministry  of 
Jesus  Christ.  His  hour  has  come,  that  solemn  hour 
of  inexpressible  suffering  and  of  perfect  obedience. 
Now  more  than  ever  are  we  enabled  to  say  with  John 
the  Baptist,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world  !  "  Behold  him  offered  up 
a  bleeding  sacrifice  !  After  the  resurrection  of  Laza- 
rus, Jesus  Christ  withdrew  with  his  disciples  to 
Ephraim,  near  the  wilderness.    John  xi.  54.     The  pass- 

32* 


378  THE    TîET)EEMER. 

over  was  nigh  at  hand,  therefore  but  a  few  days  were 
spent  in  that  retired  place,  and  at  Jericho  he  rejoined 
the  numerous  caravans  which  were  proceeding  to  the 
holy  city  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Once  more 
he  manifested  his  power  by  healing  blind  Bartimeus, 
as  also  by  the  very  striking  conversion  of  Zaccheus 
the  publican.  From  Jericho  Jesus  Christ  journeys  to 
Bethany,  to  pass  the  Sabbath  in  the  family  of  Lazarus. 
Already  had  he  often  come  hither  to  find  repose  in  its 
bosom.  He  was  tenderly  beloved  by  that  household, 
and  to  that  love  a  sentiment  of  ardent  gratitude  had 
been  added  since  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus.  Mary, 
whom  Luke  has  shown  us  listening  to  Jesus,  and 
whose  appearance,  scarcely  outlined  by  the  evangelist, 
has  come  down  to  us  as  a  type  of  deep  inward  piety,  full 
of  sweetness  and  beauty, — Mary  seeks  to  express  all 
that  is  in  her  heart  of  gratitude  and  love  for  the  Master 
by  lavishing  on  his  feet  a  box  of  fragrant  ointment. 
Leave  it  for  a  covetous  Judas  to  complain  of  this,  and 
bless  her  for  having  rendered  this  pious  homage  to  our 
Saviour  !  Alas  !  soon  those  feet  will  be  torn  by  nails, 
soon  he  will  be  delivered  up  to  shame.  It  is  sweet  to 
think  that  on  this  sinful  earth  he  had  already  found 
hearts  who  understood  him,  and  who  comforted  him  in 
anticipation  of  hi  s  sufferings.  Our  Lord  leaves  Bethany 
to  go  up  to  the  feast.  The  caravans  overtook  him  on 
the  journey.  They  have  doubtless  heard  of  the  res- 
urrection of  Lazarus  ;  they  experience  toward  him  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  early  days  of  his  ministry,  and  they 
lead  him  in  triumph  to  Jerusalem,  casting  branches  of 
palm-trees  in  the  way,  and  singing  hymns  to  his  praise. 
Jesus  Christ  consented  to  this  triumph  in  order  to  re- 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   SACRIFICE.  379 

mind  his  disciples  in  a  visible  manner  that  glory  be- 
longeth  unto  him,  and  that  if  he  freely  deprives  himself 
of  it,  the  day  will  come  in  which  he  shall  seize  it  again 
in  its  most  resplendent  luster.  The  day  of  palms  is  a 
prophecy  of  the  future  triumph  of  the  church,  and  of 
its  Divine  Head.  At  Jerusalem,  Jesus  Christ  once 
more  encounters  his  constant  enemies,  who  endeavor 
by  means  of  subtle  questions  to  change  his  triumph 
into  confusion  ;  but  the  Saviour's  indignation  bursts 
forth  upon  them  with  terrible  and  vehement  energy, 
and  they  have  not  a  word  to  reply.  To  this  same 
epoch  pertain  the  prediction  of  Jesus  Christ  concern- 
ing Jerusalem  and  the  future  of  the  church,  and  those 
solemn  parables  in  which  he  commends  to  his  disci- 
ples the  watchfulness  of  the  wise  virgins  and  the  faith- 
fulness of  the  good  servants  in  the  use  of  the  talents 
entrusted  to  them. 

Jesus  Christ  has  but  a  few  hours  to  spend  upon  the 
earth  before  the  great  sacrifice.  He  goes  to  the  upper 
chamber  where  the  passover  feast  is  made  ready.  No 
words  of  man  can  describe  the  scene  which  there  took 
place  during  that  solemn  night.  After  having  washed 
the  feet  of  his  disciples,  to  teach  them  by  a  striking 
symbol  his  conception  of  humility,  he  breaks  the  bread 
and  gives  them  the  cup,  saying,  "  Do  this  in  remem- 
brance of  me."  The  supper  is  instituted  as  the  sacra- 
ment of  redemption  and  the  feast  of  love.  The  traitor 
has  just  gone  out  to  finish  his  accursed  work.  Then 
the  Master  poured  his  heart  into  the  heart  of  his  dis- 
ciples. Promises,  consolations,  the  effusion  of  a  holy 
and  divine  love,  —  all  is  comprehended  in  those  last  dis- 
courses in  which  there  seems  to  breathe  tlie  soul  of  Je- 


380  THE   REDEEMER. 

SUS  Christ.  Notliiiig  can  be  compared  with  them.  It  is 
the  heaven  of  Christianity  which  is  opened  ;  that  region 
of  purity  and  love,  so  seldom  discerned,  here  is  spread 
forth  full  of  light,  of  depth,  of  peace. 

After  having  spoken  to  his  disciples,  Christ  speaks 
for  them  to  his  Father.  He  lays  them  upon  his  bosom, 
and  places  them  in  the  eternal  arms,  and  then  can  say, 
with  his  eyes  raised  toward  him,  "  I  have  finished  the 
work  which  thou  gavest  me  to  do." 

He  has  finished  it  without  doubt,  but  it  remains  to 
crown  it  by  his  suffering.  He  repaired  with  his  disci- 
ples to  the  garden  of  Olives.  Once  more  he  seeks  the 
desert  ;  he  is  about  to  prepare  himself  for  the  last  com- 
bat. What  a  night  was  that  in  Gethsemane  !  Whilst 
the  disciples  are  sleeping  on  account  of  sorrow,  he  is 
there  alone  confronting  the  terrible  sacrifice  which  he 
must  offer  on  the  morrow.  All  the  bitternesses  of  hu- 
man life  are  poured  into  his  cup.  How  he  groans  ! 
He  utters  great  cries,  he  drags  himself  in  the  dust, 
drops  of  blood  wet  his  forehead  !  Such  is  the  impiety 
of  some  men  that  they  mock  at  his  anguish,  and  de- 
rive from  it  a  railing  accusation  against  him.  Let  them 
know  that  by  means  of  that  anguish  and  that  extreme 
abasement  we  recognize  our  deliverer  !  That  Saviour 
who  struggles  and  who  suffers,  who  prays  and  who 
weeps,  it  is  he  whom  we  need  ;  for  that  cry,  "  Father, 
thy  will  be  done  !  "  issues  from  a  truly  human  heart, 
since  it  issues  from  a  broken  heart,  and  that  cry,  as 
regards  our  salvation,  drowns  the  rebellious  cry  of 
the  first  Adam. 

The  day  of  immolation  has  dawned.  Here  is  Judas, 
here  %yq  his  impious  company.     But  they  can  not  en- 


JESUS   cum  ST  AS  SACRIFICE.  881 

dure  the  glorious  briglitncss  of  holiness  which  is 
poured  forth  over  the  entire  person  of  Christ.  They 
fall  down  as  if  thunder-struck,  and  it  is  only  because 
he  wills  to  be  delivered  up  to  them  that  they  are  ena- 
bled to  seize  upon  him.  From  the  insults  of  the  San- 
hedrim he  passes  to  the  outrages  of  the  Pretorium. 
In  spite  of  his  conscience,  a  cowardly  Pilate  condemned 
him  to  death,  and  crowned  him  with  thorns.  He  was 
led  forth  to  Calvary  bending  beneath  his  cross.  The 
Jews  crucified  him  between  two  robbers,  and,  moreover, 
had  the  abominable  courage  to  mock  at  his  sufferings. 
Fix  your  eyes  upon  that  cross,  my  brethren,  and 
turn  them  not  away  from  it.  It  is  that  which  con- 
summates your  redemption  !  All  the  sufferings 
which  constitute  condemnation  are  comprehended  in 
that  sacrifice,  comprehended  and  accepted  in  one  act 
of  absolute  obedience,  accepted  by  the  Just  and  Holy 
One,  and,  consequently,  transformed  into  a  life-giving 
expiation.  Shall  I  speak  of  bodily  sufferings  ?  I  ap- 
peal to  those  sacred  members  so  horribly  mangled. 
Shall  I  speak  of  sufferings  of  the  heart  ?  I  appeal  to 
that  ignominy,  to  those  fleeing  disciples,  and  to  that 
afflicted  group  of  a  mother  and  a  weeping  friend  near 
the  accursed  tree,  and  upon  whom  Christ  turned  a 
look  so  full  of  sorrow  and  of  love.  Shall  I  speak  of 
the  soul's  anguish,  of  that  cry,  "  My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?  "  What  a  mysterious  iden- 
tity between  condemned  humanity  and  the  only  Son 
of  the  Father  is  revealed  in  that  wonderful  saying, 
which  no  human  explanation  can  satisfactorily  inter- 
pret !  Shall  I  speak  of  the  grief  which  combines  and 
blends  together  all  others,  of  tliat  which  is  eminently 


382  THE   REBEEMEB. 

the  wages  of  sin,  of  death  ?  However  stupendous  the 
prodigy  may  appear,  the  Prince  of  life  did  die.  He 
was  buried.  The  wages  of  sin  ho  recoived,  he,  the  in- 
nocent one.  Show  us  a  suffering,  a  single  one,  want- 
ing to  his  cross,  except  that  which  is  caused  by  re- 
morse !  Show  us  a  single  tliorn  wanting  in  his  bloody 
crown  !  If  it  be  true  that  all  the  sorrows  of  human  life 
have  burst  upon  that  innocent  head,  if  he  has  made 
of  it  a  single  offering,  presenting  it  to  his  Father  in  his 
freedom  and  his  holiness,  confess  with  him  that  noth- 
ing more  remains  to  be  done  to  accomplish  salvation, 
for  there  is  nothing  more  to  suffer,  nothing  more  to  ac- 
cept, and  say  with  him,  "  It  is  finished  !  " 

Yes,  all  is  finished  f  That  vast  work  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  depict  to  you,  which  began  on  the  mor- 
row of  the  Fall,  which  was  continued  during  forty  pre- 
paratory centuries,  unceasingly  prosecuted  by  the  Son 
of  God  himself,  behold  it  now  reaching  its  final  term! 
Divine  love  is  no  longer  confronted  by  rebellion,  but 
before  it  stands  a  love  equal  to  its  own.  Between 
humanity  and  him  there  exists  no  more  disharmony. 
There  is  perfect  harmony,  absolute  union;  and  this 
union  is  man's  reintegration  in  his  lofty  position,  it  is 
salvation.  Over  against  the  revolt  in  Eden  we  can 
set  the  sacrifice  on  Golgotlia  ;  to  the  tree  of  the  knovd- 
edge  of  good  and  evil,  the  tree  of  the  cross  ;  to  rebel- 
lious humanity,  humanity  obedient  even  unto  death  ; 
—  in  one  word,  to  all  condemnation,  to  all  ruin,  Jesus 
Christ  !  therefore,  henceforth  we  desire  to  know  noth- 
ing save  Jesus  Christ,  and  Jesus  Christ  crucified.  We 
wish  to  pitch  our  tents  upon  the  mount  of  the  cross. 
We  desire  to  learn  there  anew  every  day  the  love  of 


JESUS    CHRIST   AS    SACRIFICE.  383 

our  God,  the  charity  of  our  Saviour,  and  to  read  our 
pardon  in  those  bloody  characters  which  alone  could 
write  it  out  for  a  race  so  perverse  as  ours  !  We  desire 
to  sing  there  the  praises  of  the  Lamb  who  was  slain 
for  us,  and  who  has  taken  away  the  sins  of  the 
world  !  We  desire  to  draw  love  and  comfort  thence, 
and  dying  unto  ourselves  with  Christ  crucified,  we 
desire  to  make  ourselves  ready  to  live  the  life  ever- 
lasting with  Christ  who  has  risen  again  ! 


CHAPTER   XII. 

JESUS    CHRIST   AS    KING. 

*'  And  without  controversy  great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness  :  God  was 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached 
unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into  gloi'y." 
—  1  Tim.  iii.  16, 

WE  have  contemplated  two  aspects  of  the  work  of 
Jesus  Christ.  We  have  considered  Mm  as  Prophet 
and  as  Sacrifice  :  to-day  we  propose  to  consider  him  as 
King.  We  shall  thus  have  completed  this  great  and 
magnificent  subject,  —  completed  at  least  the  sketching 
of  its  more  exterior  outlines.  To  penetrate  into  its 
depths  our  entire  life  would  not  suffice,  for  even  eter- 
nity could  not  exhaust  it. 

We  have  found  again  and  adored  redeeming  love  in 
the  Prophet  who  traversed  Judgea  and  Galilee,  pro- 
claiming the  kingdom  of  God,  and  in  the  holy  victim 
sacrificed  upon  Calvary  ;  in  like  manner  we  will  adore 
him  in  the  divine  King  of  the  church.  The  word  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  word  of  love,  his  sacrifice  was 
the  sacrifice  of  love,  and  his  royalty  was  the  royalty 
of  love.  Our  text,  after  having  set  forth  the  incar- 
nation in  these  words,  "  God  was  manifest  in  the 
flesh,"  presents  to  us  in  the  following  words  the  suc- 
cessive phases  of  the  kingship  of  our  Lord  :  '•  He  was 
justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels,  preached  unto 

384 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  KING.  385 

the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world,  received  up  into 
glory."  His  resurrection,  his  ascension,  the  power 
of  his  gospel  over  the  world  and  over  the  church, — 
such  are  the  different  stages  of  his  glory.  Let  us  rap- 
idly survey  these  in  order  to  perceive  that  his  kingly 
work  was  not  less  perfect  than  his  prophetic  and  sacer- 
dotal, and  that  we  have  to  look  for  another  king  no 
more  than  we  have  to  expect  another  prophet  and  an- 
other sacrifice. 

If  Jesus  Christ  enters  in  a  signal  manner  upon  his 
kingship  only  after  his  resurrection,  it  is  not  the  less 
true  that  never  did  he  cease  to  be  king  in  a  spiritual 
sense.  He  no  more  ceased  to  be  king  than  to  be  God. 
His  divinity,  like  his  royalty,  was  vailed  ;  he  had  will- 
ingly lessened  its  luster  by  his  humiliation.  The  King 
of  glory  had  taken  the  form  of  a  servant,  but  under 
this  servant  form  he  nevertheless  remained  the  King 
of  glory.  We  are  told  that  celestial  spirits,  whose 
penetration  could  not  be  baffled  or  misled  by  appear- 
ances, adored  him  at  the  very  time  when  he  was  un- 
dergoing his  greatest  humiliations.  He  was  adored 
by  angels  in  the  wilderness  of  temptation.  In  more 
than  one  circumstance  his  royal  kingly  character 
shone  out  as  with  a  vivid  gleam  of  lightning.  "  What 
manner  of  man  is  this  ?  "  said  they  ;  "  for  he  com- 
mandeth  even  the  winds  and  the  sea."  ^'  Who  is  this 
that  forgiveth  sins  ?  "  And  stranger  it  was  that,  be- 
fore the  tribunal  of  his  judge,  and  upon  the  cross,  the 
eternal  kingship  in-dwelling  in  Jesus  Christ  was  dis- 
played in  the  most  positive  manner.  Recall  to  mind, 
my  brethren,  the  astonishing  declaration  of  our  Lord 
to  Pilate.     "  Art  thou  a  king  ?  "  the  proconsul  disdain- 

33 


386  THE   REDEEMER. 

fully  asked,  as  if  to  bring  out  more  plainly  by  this  cold 
irony  the  contrast  between  his  position  as  an  accused 
person  and  his  high  claims.  "  Thou  sayest  that  I  am 
a  king,"  answered  Jesus  Christ.  "  Where,  -then,  is 
thy  right,  thy  power  ?  "  Behold  it  Î  "  For  this  cause 
came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto* 
the  truth."  Thus,  according  to  Jesus  Christ,  testi- 
mony borne  to  the  truth  invested  him  with  actual  roy- 
alty. It  is  because  in  very  deed,  my  brethren,  truth 
was  made  to  reign  ;  and  truth  is  sovereign  by  a  divine 
and  absolute  right.  Being  the  eternal  thought  of 
God,  it  ouglit  on  every  ground  to  be  realized.  It  can 
not  fail  to  triumph,  for  its  overthrow  would  be  the 
overthrow  of  God  himself.  In  all  ages  it  is  to  the 
truth  that  the  final  word  belongs,  the  word  which 
brings  light  into  chaos,  into  the  ever-recurring  chaos 
of  human  opinions.  It  also  has  deep  roots,  because  it 
is  rooted  in  God.  That  which  is  contrary  to  it  has 
but  a  borrowed  life,  essentially  transitory.  Every 
idea,  every  doctrine  which  does  not  proceed  from  it,  is 
destined  to  become  its  own  destroyer.  However  bril- 
liant may  be  its  blossoming,  men  will  quickly  say  of 
it,  "  I  passed  by,  and  it  was  no  more  to  be  seen." 
Truth  marches  on  slowly,  but  surely,  to  universal  do- 
minion. Queen  in  heaven,  it  is  destined  to  reign  glo- 
riously upon  the  earth.  Of  little  moment  is  the  igno- 
miny to  which  it  is  often  surrendered.  The  shame  is 
but  for  a  time,  the  glory  will  be  eternal.  Of  little  mo- 
ment that  it  should  be  seemingly  supplanted  by  usurp- 
ers. Not  the  less  is  truth  alone  queen  and  sovereign.  A 
new  usurpation  prepares  for  it  a  new  triumph.  Who- 
ever bears  testimony  unto  it  allies  himself  with  its 


JESUS   CHRIST  À  S  KING.  387 

glorious  destinies.  Whoever  utters  a  word  of  truth 
utters  a  royal  word,  victorious  over  all  gainsaying. 
We  share  in  its  royalty  in  proportion  to  the  fidelity 
which  we  bear  to  it.  And  thus,  if  there  be  found  a 
man  who  possesses  it  not  in  part,  but  wholly,  and  who 
is  identified  with  it,  we  can  say  that  that  man  is  king 
in  an  absolute  sense.  That  man  is  found  :  it  is  the 
God-man.  He  has  not  only  been  the  witness  for  the 
truth,  he  was  also  its  living  expression.  He  could 
say,  "  I  am  the  truth."  With  equal  right  he  could 
say,  "  I  am  king  ;  "  for,  of  all  royalties,  even  in  our 
sinful  world,  the  truest,  the  most  abiding,  the  alone 
immortal  and  invincible,  is  that  of  the  truth.  It  is 
good  to  remember  this  when  we  see  truth  shackled, 
outraged,  and  trodden  under  foot. 

Jesus  Christ  also  showed  himself  a  king  on  the 
cross.  "■  Having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,"  says 
St.  Paul,  "■  he  made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing 
over  them  in  it."  Col.  ii.  15.  Those  principalities 
and  powers,  in  biblical  language,  represent  the  forces 
of  evil  acting  in  the  world  and  subduing  it.  In  two 
ways  has  Jesus  Christ  signally  acted  the  kingly  part 
toward  them  by  his  death.  First  he  made  a  spectacle 
of  them,  and  then  he  triumphed  over  them.  His  en- 
emies had  imagined  that  by  nailing  him  to  the  accursed 
tree  and  inflicting  upon  him  the  punishment  of  a  slave, 
they  were  dishonoring  him  for  ever.  They  were  mis- 
taken ;  the  infamy  was  theirs,  and  did  not  pertain  to 
the  victim.  Then  was  disclosed  the  essential  charac- 
ter of  this  world,  the  enemy  of  God,  which  in  the  or- 
dinary course  of  human  life  dissembles  its  hate  and 
endeavors  successfully  to  pass  as  honest.     Behold  it  at 


388  THE    REDEEMER. 

the  cross  fully  unmasked  ;  it  had  cast  away  its  vail,  so 
often  woven  with  seeming  virtues,  with  hypocritical 
moderation  and  vain  religiousness.  In  this  terrible 
day  it  stands  forth  wholly  revealed,  murderer  of  the 
Holy  One  and  the  Just,  able  to  discover  no  punishment 
for  him  equal  to  its  wrath.  Long  had  it  cherished  in 
the  depth  of  its  heart  this  impious  hatred  toward  the 
Messiah.  But  hate  had  been  dumb  ;  now  it  "speaks, 
it  manifests  itself  with  entire  freedom.  That  which 
it  was  saying  in  low  tones  has  burst  forth  in  the  fear- 
ful cry,  't  Crucify  him.  Crucify  him  !  "  The  powers  of 
the  world  are,  in  truth,  made  a  show  to  heaven  and  to 
the  earth.  They  found  in  the  cross  a  tree  of  infamy, 
and  henceforth  they  can  not  separate  themselves  from 
it.  They  are  torn  from  the  obscurity  in  which  they 
loved  to  dwell,  plotting  against  God  and  against 
his  Anointed.  This  man,  condemned  to  death,  covered 
with  the  hootings  of  an  ungrateful  people,  who  appears 
to  be  the  most  forsaken  and  feeble  of  men,  is  in  reality 
a  conqueror  who  drags  after  him  his  vanquished  foes 
and  makes  a  show  of  them  openly. 

Triumphant  conqueror  :  the  word  is  not  too  strong, 
my  brethren,  and  the  apostle  is  justified  in  adding  that 
the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ  has  triumphed  over  the  powers 
of  this  world.  At  first  the  world  sought  this  excess 
of  torments  inflicted  upon  our  Saviour  to  harass  his 
soul.  Satan  had  endeavored  to  take  him  in  the  snare 
of  pleasure  and-  earthly  glory.  Satan  had  been  shame- 
fully vanquished,  as  we  have  seen.  He  endeavored 
when  Christ  was  upon  the  cross  to  crush  that  strong 
and  holy  soul  by  suffering  urged  to  its  utmost  limits. 
And  he  finds  that  he  has  only  shed  a  new  luster  over 


JESUS   CniîIST  AS  KING.  389 

the  moral  perfection  of  our  Lord.  If  Jesus  Christ 
groaned  in  Gethsemane  with  the  bloody  cup  in  view, 
this  groaning  had  no  other  result  than  to  render  his 
obedience  more  real,  more  human,  more  redemptive. 
The  odious  ingratitude  of  the  Jews  could  not  develop 
in  his  heart  a  single  bitter  or  irritated  feeling.  When 
fastened  to  the  cross  not  the  less  does  he  remain  the 
incarnation  of  charity.  It  is  not  possible  to  diminish 
that  great,  that  immense  love,  which  itself  alone  re- 
veals his  divinity.  You  may  smite  his  head,  spit  upon 
his  face,  tear  his  limbs  with  nails  and  cover  them  with 
his  blood,  mock  at  his  suffering,  offer  him  vinegar 
when  he  says  "  I  thirst,"  and  drown  his  groans  with 
your  laughter,  you  may  immolate  him  and  slay  him, 
you  can  not  enkindle  in  him  one  spark  of  anger. 
Draw  near  to  him  at  the  moment  when  his  soul  is 
about  to  leave  his  body,  in  which  it  is  enfeebled  by  the 
greatest  sorrows.  Listen  to  the  last  words  of  his  ago- 
ny, "  Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do  !  "  Such  were  his  vengeance  and  his  wrath.  Ack- 
nowledge your  powerlessness,  and  with  this  forgive- 
ness wholly  enveloping  and  as  it  were  crushing  you, 
confess  that  your  victim  triumphs  over  you  by  strength 
of  love,  and  that  never,  even  amid  the  glories  of  heav- 
en, did  he  manifest  more  of  greatness  than  in  that 
doleful  hour  of  his  humiliation.  Moreover,  let  us  not 
forget  that  this  death  is  the  sacrifice  of  redemption,  is 
the  crushing  of  the  serpent's  head.  Often  in  the  con- 
fusion of  a  combat  a  victorious  cliief,  covered  with  dust 
and  blood,  seems  nearer  defeat  than  triumph.  But  of 
what  importance  are  appearances  ?  He  knows  that 
the  enemy  is  in  flight,  and  that  he  is  dealing  him  the 

33* 


390  THE   REDE  EMEU. 

last  blows.  When  Jesus  Christ  cried  out,  as  he  gave 
up  his  spirit,  "It  is  finished  !"  he  uttered  his  cry  of 
victory.  This  cry  escaped  from  his  breast  heaving 
with  his  last  sigh,  but  it  had  not  failed  to  break  the 
power  of  the  great  adversary.  The  powers  of  the 
world  were  vanquished.  They  did  not  suspect  it  ;  on 
the  contrary,  they  imagined  themselves  to  be  delivered 
from  this  formidable  representative  of  the  cause  of 
God.  At  the  very  hour  when  hell  was  perhaps  con- 
gratulating itself  on  having  destroyed  the  plan  of  di- 
vine love,  what  was  this  crucified,  this  vanquished  one 
doing  ?  He  was  opening  heaven  to  a  poor  repentant 
sinner.  "  This  night,"  said  he  to  the  penitent  thief, 
"  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  What  more 
striking  proof  that  the  wicked  man,  as  always,  had 
done  a  work  which  deceived  him,  and  that  Jesus  Christ 
had  indeed  triumphed  on  the  cross  over  the  powers  of 
the  world,  after  having  made  a  show  of  them  openly  ? 

But,  my  brethren,  let  us  hasten  to  declare  it,  this 
moral  kingsliip  of  which  Jesus  Christ  could  not  be 
deprived  for  a  single  instant  could  not  suffice  unto 
him.  It  was  to  terminate  in  an  outward  and  re- 
splendent royalty  ;  it  was  to  have  its  crown  and  its 
scepter.  It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  that  obedience 
and  righteousness  are  recompensed  only  in  a  mystical 
manner,  if  I  may  thus  speak,  by  the  inward  happi- 
ness which  attends  them  in  the  heart.  Tliis  moral 
satisfaction  is  indeed  a  precious  compensation  for  the 
sacrifices  to  which  he  is  exposed  who  sincerely  and 
habitually  does  good  in  this  world,  but  it  is  not  the 
only  consolation  of  the  persecuted  just  man.  He 
ought  to  know  that  if  the  present  is  against  him  in 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS  KING.  391 

an  earthly  point  of  view,  the  future  is  for  him  in 
every  sense.  Were  it  otherwise,  the  lies  of  the 
,  tempter  would  be  partly  justified.  He  aims  to  make 
us  believe  in  a  kind  of  opposition  between  goodness 
and  happiness.  According  to  his  perfidious  sugges- 
tions, evil  and  felicity  would  be  on  one  side,  and  on 
the  other  afflictions  and  duty.  It  is  important  that 
this  false  and  dangerous  method  of  stating  the  ques- 
tion of  good  and  evil  should  be  set  aside,  and  that  it 
be  understood  that  it  is  not  true  in  fact  that  man 
has  to  clioose  between  goodness  and  happiness.  Tak- 
ing things  not  merely  in  tlie  circle  of  the  finite, 
where  everything  begins  and  nothing  ends,  where  no 
ultimate  judgment  can  be  passed  upon  anything 
whatever,  looking  at  them  from  the  point  of  view  in 
eternity,  which  is  the  only  true  and  satisfactory  posi- 
tion, happiness  and  go'odness  must  appear  to  be 
indissolubly  united.  The  law  of  goodness  is  the 
expression  of  that  will  which  governs  the  world. 
He  who  has  established  it  is  the  Almighty,  and  he 
designs  to  give  it  scope  and  fulfillment  in  all  do- 
mains. It  follows  that  the  narrow  way  of  obedience 
and  sacrifice,  beginning  on  a  hard  and  stony  soil, 
rises  towards  hights  increasingly  serene,  until  it 
opens  up  into  light  and  glory.  On  the  contrary,  the 
broad  way  plunges  down  more  and  more  into  the 
dark  abyss  until  it  wholly  disappears.  If  then  the 
road  to  Calvary  did  not  lead  to  the  gate  of  heaven, 
the  law  of  God  would  lose  its  absolute  character. 
V  The  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  must  necessarily  ter- 
minate in  triumph  and  in  kingly  power  ;  and  it  is  con- 


392  THE   BE  DEE  MER. 

ceniing  this  outward  royalty  that  we  have  now  to 
discourse  to  you,  as  we  follow  our  text  step  by  step. 

It  declares  to  us  first,  of  our  Saviour,  that  he  was 
justified  in  the  Spirit.  What  are  we  to  understand 
by  these  words  ?  For  Jesus  Christ  to  be  justified  in 
the  Spirit,  is  to  receive  in  a  solemn  manner  before  the 
world  the  confirmation  of  his  words  :  such  justifica- 
tion will  be  as  a  divine  seal  affixed  to  his  mission, 
an  irrefutable  proclamation  of  the  righteousness  of 
his  cause  and  the  acceptance  of  his  sacrifice  by  his 
Father.  But  in  order  to  a  justification  like  this, 
nothing  less  than  his  resurrection  is  necessary.  If 
he  does  not  rise  from  the  dead,  it  is  proven  that  he  is 
only  an  impostor  or  an  incomplete  Saviour.  He 
came  to  add  his  name  to  that  long  list  of  pretended 
Messiahs  which  is  but  the  list  of  the  deceits  of  hu- 
manity. Jesus  Christ  declared  in  advance  that  he 
would  not  remain  in  the  tomb.  If  he  remains  there 
he  is  nothing  but  a  fallible  man,  and  his  teaching,  in- 
validated on  one  point,  loses  all  worth  in  our  eyes. 
Jesus  Christ  declared  himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God  ; 
if  he  who  represented  himself  as  the  creative  Word 
can  not  escape  from  the  power  of  death,  it  is  evident 
to  all  that  he  was  but  one  of  us.  Finally,  and  above 
all,  he  declared  himself  to  be  the  Redeemer,  the  van- 
quisher of  sin.  If  he  does  not  rise  again,  his  death 
is  only  a  heroic  and  sublime  death,  but  a  death  with- 
out expiatory  value.  His  last  words  were  the  dreams 
of  a  man  in  his  agony,  and  the  wind  carried  away 
his  "  It  is  finished  !  "  like  one  of  those  words  that 
escape  in  the  delirium  of  the  dying.  The  resurrec- 
tion  is   therefore   the   only   sufficient    and    complete 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS  KING.  393 

justification   of  his   ministry.      It   is   not    only   the 
crown  of  his  work,  it  is  its  necessary  completion. 

We  know  that  this  is  one  of  the  miracles  which 
occasion  the  greatest  scandal  to  unbelief,  and  which 
seem  to  it  beyond  all  others  absurd  and  impossible. 
It  descants  skillfully  upon  the  laws  of  our  physical 
being  ;  it  demonstrates  with  force  and  clearness  that 
on  natural  grounds  of  view  the  principle  of  life  once 
extinguished  can  not  be  renewed,  and  it  regards  the 
resurrection  of  our  Saviour  as  a  ridiculous  fable.  As 
for  ourselves,  between  a  material  impossibility  and  a 
moral  impossibility,  we  do  not  hesitate.  Only  the 
latter  appears  to  us  absolute  and  insurmountable. 
We  also  believe  in  the  permanence  and  inflexibility 
of  the  law  of  creation  ;  but  this  law,  the  axis  around 
which  everything  turns,  is  not  a  material  law,  it  is  a 
moral  law.  The  laws  of  the  physical  world  are 
necessarily  subordinated  to  it  ;  it  is  for  that  law  that 
God  has  already  shaken  the  earth  (Heb.  xii.  26),  and 
it  is  in  order  to  give  it  a  supreme  consecration  that 
he  has  said,  "  Yet  once  more  I  will  shake  not  the 
earth  only,  but  also  heaven  ;  "  as  if  to  show  us  in  the 
most  solemn  manner  that  the  entire  system  of  natu- 
ral laws  which  rules  the  outward  world  is  nothing  in 
his  eyes  compared  with  the  fundamental  law  of  the 
spiritual  world.  Let  them  not  speak  to  us,  then,  any 
more  of  the  impossibility  of  the  resurrection.  That 
which  is  really  impossible  we  may  learn  from  the 
language  of  an  apostle  :  ''It  was  not  possible,"  said 
St.  Peter,  "  that  he  should  be  holden  of  the  pains  of 
death."  Acts  ii.  24.  That  could  not  be,  because 
death   being  the  wages   of  sin,  the  justice  of  God 


o94  THE   lîEDEEMEE. 

would  be  at  fault  if  Jesus  Christ  were  held  by  its 
bonds  after  the  redemptive  sacrifice.     God  could  not 
a  second  time  ask  for  the  payment  of  a  debt  already 
discharged.     These    bands    of   death    must    then    be 
broken  in  the  case  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  name  of  a 
higher  necessity  than  all  the  necessities  of  the  order 
of  nature.     It  is  impossible  that  he  be  held,  as  it  is 
impossible    that   God    be    unjust.     What    matters   it 
then  that  on  the  night  following  the  day  of  Christ's 
death  all  seems  finished  to  his  enemies,  and  even  to 
his  friends,  who  go  apart  to  shed  bitter  tears  of  de- 
spair ?     What  means  the    sepulcher  with   the    stone 
rolled  up  to  the  door  of  it  ?     What  avails  that  guard 
placed  around  the  tomb  to  watch  it?     Of  what  im- 
portance is  it  that  one  night  passes  away,  that  an- 
other day  also  passes,  and  that  the  third  day  begins 
before  death  has  yet  yielded  up  his  prey  ?     Be  not 
disquieted  at  the   sight  of  those  women  who  bring 
consecrated   perfumes   to   embalm   the  dead.     What 
avail  those  funeral  observances,  which   show  so  little 
faith  and  so  much  affection  for  the  Master  ?     Not- 
withstanding all  these  appearances,  it  is  not  possible 
that  he  should  remain  in  this  sepulcher.     The  stone 
is  heavy  ;  it  shall  be  rolled  away  by  the  angels  of 
God  ;  at  the  sight  of  them  the  guard  stationed  there 
w^ill  flee  away,  and  the  pious  women  who  were  com- 
ing sorrowfully  to  pay  him  the  last  offices  w^ill  return 
with  a  song  of  triumph  :  for,  lo  !  on  the  morning  of 
the  third  day  he  hath  risen  again.     He  has  thrown 
off  the  winding-sheet,  and  soon  he  will  be  known  by 
the  palpable  signs  of  his  crucifixion,  as  by  the  sounds 
of  his  voice,  which  causes  the  hearts  of  his  disciples 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  KING.  395 

to  burn  within  them.  Justified  by  the  Spirit  before 
his  own,  through  their  testimony  he  shall  be  justi- 
fied before  the  world,  and  this  testimony  shall  be  so 
clear,  so  precise  and  unanimous,  notwithstanding 
differences  in  detail  which  more  plainly  exhibit  their 
agreement  in  things  essential,  that  to  call  this  in 
doubt  will  be  overthrowing  the  very  foundations  of 
historic  certainty.  The  testimony  of  their  life  and 
of  their  death  will  be  yet  more  powerful,  for  by  their 
calmness  in  suffering,  by  their  joy  in  bonds  or  be- 
neath the  blows  of  their  persecutors,  by  their  joyful 
hope  in  the  midst**  of  death  and  amid  tortures,  they 
will  not  cease  to  declare  he  hath  risen  ;  and  therein 
is  the  secret  of  our  courage  and  our  peace.  If  it 
were  not  so,  we  should  be  of  all  men  most  miserable. 
(1  Cor.  XV.  19.)  But  it  is  so  ;  and  although  the  scorn 
and  offscourings  of  the  world,  pressed  down  and 
crushed  on  every  side,  in  wounds,  in  prisons,  in  toils, 
in  watchings,  in  fastings,  like  sheep  appointed  to  the 
slaughter,  we  are  nevertheless  the  happiest  of  men,  in 
the  strength  of  that  glorious  resurrection. 

You  know,  my  brethren,  the  importance  attributed 
by  the  ancient  church  to  this  fact  of  the  resurrection 
of  our  Saviour,  a  fact  which  in  our  day  is  kept  too 
much  in  the  shade.  In  reading  the  discourses  of  the 
apostles,  we  feel  they  could  not  weary  in  speaking  of  it. 
This  great  and  glorious  third  day  brings  to  them  all 
light  and  all  consolation.  They  no  longer  saw  in  Je- 
sus Christ  simply  the  gentle  Master  and  the  meek  vic- 
tim, but  also  the  King  of  glory  and  the  Prince  of  life. 
They  discerned  beneath  the  visible  sacrifices  the  great 
and  mysterious  sacrifice  of  God  made  man  ;  all  the 


396  THE   REDEEMER. 

past  assumed  a  profound  meaning  for  them  ;  and  thus 
the  kingship  of  Jesus  Christ  threw  back  a  new  and 
more  brilliant  light  over  his  life.  Moreover,  his  res- 
urrection was  in  their  eyes  the  triumphant  evidence 
of  the  gospel.  They  thought  that  in  like  manner  as 
it  had  scattered  away  their  unbelief,  it  would  bring  con- 
viction to  hearts  not  hardened.  Finally,  they  knew 
that  Christ  risen  is  the  first-fruits  of  those  who  sleep, 
and  that  death  had  been  conquered  for  them  as  for  him. 
Beside  his  empty  sepulcher  they  were  enabled  to  lift 
up  that  hymn  of  Christian  immortality,  an  immortal- 
ity based  not  on  philosophical  suppositions,  but  on  a 
positive  fact  :  "  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  0  grave, 
where  is  thy  victory  ?  "  The  resurrection  of  Christ, 
the  second  Adam,  the  chief  of  humanity,  proclaims, 
therefore,  our  own  resurrection.  And  thus  it  is  for  the 
Christian  a  source  of  inexhaustible  consolations.  It 
disarms  death  in  his  thoughts,  dissipates  his  terrors,  and 
softens  their  bitterness,  for  it  takes  from  sorrow  that  irre- 
vocable character  which  would  transform  into  despair. 
May  that  kingship  of  Christ  then  be  your  consolation  in 
the  day  of  painful  separations,  and  may  it  assist  you,  as 
it  did  the  patriarch,  to  rise  up  from  among  your  dead 
with  a  bleeding  heart,  but  comforted  by  so  great  a  hope. 
Say  within  yourselves,  as  you  see  them  descend  into 
the  tomb,  It  is  not  possible  that  they  remain  in  the 
bands  of  death,  for  those  bands  have  been  broken  for 
US,  as  for  Christ,  and  the  day  will  come  when  their 
reanimated  dust,  having  been  changed  into  a  glori- 
ous body,  shall  be  a  new  witness  of  the  efficacy  of  his 
redemption,  and,  as  it  were,  a  second  justification  by 
the  Spirit  for  his  work. 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   KING.  397 

He  was  seen  of  angels,  we  read  also  in  our  text  ; 
this  is  the  second  stage  in  his  glory,  the  second  sign 
of  his  royalty.  We  understand  by  these  words  the 
return  of  Jesus  Christ  into  the  abode  of  divine  light, 
where  the  blessed  spirits  enjoy  the  presence  and  the 
vision  of  God.  I  know  well  that  in  speaking  of  such 
an  abode  one  runs  the  risk  of  being  charged  with  ma- 
terialism ;  and  if  we  believe  certain  teachers,  the  ascen- 
sion of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  gross  idea,  one  of  the  follies 
pertaining  to  the  infancy  of  the  church,  which  she  is 
bound  to  lay  aside  in  her  full  maturity.  For  ourselves, 
we  believe  in  it,  not  only  because  the  testimony 
which  relates  this  fact  is  authoritative  in  our  judg- 
ment, but  also  because  we  have  need  to  believe  in  it. 
Doubtless  communion  with  God  is  not  confined  to 
time  or  space,  and  heaven  diffuses  its  pure  felicity 
through  any  heart  that  is  intimately  united  with  God. 
But  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  it  is  a  bitter  suffering, 
even  with  heaven  within,  to  inhabit  an  abode  saddened 
by  sin  ;  this  perpetual  contrast  between  the  soul's  life 
and  the  sad  spectacle  of  a  defiled  world  is  not  one  of 
the  least  afflictions  of  the  just  man.  We  have  need  of 
harmony,  and  certainly  the  sight  of  evil  constituted 
no  small  part  of  the  long-continued  suffering  of  him 
whose  eyes  are  too  pure  to  behold  iniquity.  We  do 
then  firmly  believe  that  there  is  an  abode  where 
these  painful  contrasts  will  not  be  found,  where  God 
will  be  all  in  all.  That  abode,  which  by  an  image  as 
sublime  as  it  is  popular  we  compare  to  the  purest,  the 
most  beautiful  and  the  grandest  object  in  our  knowl- 
edge by  calling  it  heaven,  was  to  be  thrown  open  again 
as  the  palace  of  his  glory  before  Christ  risen  from  the 

34 


398  THE   REDEEMER. 

dead.  Then  he  would  exchange  the  society  of  all  men 
like  Caiaphas  and  Judas  for  that  of  holy  angels,  and 
instead  of  the  scorn  of  a  world  which  was  unable  to 
comprehend  him,  he  would  receive  the  honor  of  which 
he  was  worthy.  Long  enough  had  he  been  exposed  to 
shame  ;  the  everlasting  hosanna  would  now  silence 
the  shouts  of  an  ingrate  people.  "  The  away  with 
him  !"  of  the  impious  and  ungrateful  multitude  will 
give  place  to  the  song  of  the  Lamb.  The  mocking 
laugh  of  the  Pharisee  will  be  succeeded  by  the  hymn 
of  seraphim.  Ah  !  we  understand  the  glory  compre- 
hended in  those  simple  words,  "  He  was  seen  of  angels." 
With  what  holy  enthusiasm,  when  the  gates  of  heaven 
were  lifted  up  that  their  King  might  come  in,  did  they 
not  pour  forth  their  adoring  songs,  as  if  to  compensate 
by  their  divine  emulation  for  the  outrages  of  the  Pre- 
torium  and  of  Calvary  !  What  an  hour  was  that  when 
they  beheld  him  again,  and  when  he  again  sat  down  in 
the  midst  of  their  faithful  band,  upon  that  throne  which 
he  had  left  to  offer  the  holy  sacrifice  of  love,  and  on 
which  he  resumed  his  place  in  the  triumph  of  love  ! 
He  was  seen  of  angels  ! 

And  here,  my  brethren,  a  comparison,  or  rather  a 
contrast,  presents  itself  to  our  minds.  We  showed 
you  in  our  first  discourse,  on  the  morrow  of  the  Fall, 
Eden  closed,  and  seraphim  with  their  flaming  swords 
guarding  it  against  man  banished  and  condemned. 
He  who  to-day  is  seen  of  angels,  celebrated  by  them, 
encompassed  by  their  innumerable  choirs,  is  also  a 
man  ;  or  rather  it  is  man  anew,  tlie  man,  the  chief  of 
the  race,  the  type  of  its  destinies.  It  is  redeemed  hu- 
man nature  which  is  welcomed  thus  by  blessed  spirits  ; 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   KING.  399 

it  is  liiimaiiity  which,  according  to  the  expres- 
sions of  the  apostles,  is  seated  in  heavenly  places  ! 
Compare  this  day  of  ascension  with  the  day  of  condem- 
nation. Compare  the  seraphim  at  the  gates  of  Eden 
with  the  angels  of  paradis'e  re-opened,  and  perceive 
ill  this  very  contrast  the  greatness  of  the  redemptive 
work.  From  that  desolation  to  this  glory  how  long  is 
the  road  to  be  traversed  !  How  can  any  one  be  aston- 
ished at  the  price  paid  for  the  renovation  ?  But  how 
complete  is  the  renewal  !  As  deep  as  was  the  fall,  so 
great  is  the  rising  again.  The  fall  threw  us  into  the 
depths  of  the  abyss  ;  the  rising  brings  us  unto  God  ia 
the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  triumphant.  Cease  then  to 
speak  of  Christianity  as  a  religion  which  does  not  ex- 
alt man  !  Because  it  does  not  flatter  his  pride  it  has 
been  concluded  that  it  positively  abased  and  denied 
him  his  legitimate  honor.  It  is  not  true  that  pride 
leads  to  glory  ;  it  has  but  its  vain  shadow,  and  it  drags 
man  after  it,  in  order  to  leave  him  in  the  mud,  de- 
ceived and  degraded.  Christianity  alone  satisfies  the 
thirst  for  glory,  which  has  something  legitimate  in  it 
when  not  perverted.  For  a  fallen  creature  glory  con- 
sists only  in  renewal,  and  renewal  can  begin  only  in 
recognition  of  the  fall.  Humility,  say  the  Scriptures, 
goes  before  exaltation,  that  is  to  say,  it  alone  conducts 
to  glory.  It  is  not  an  end,  but  a  road.  The  end  is 
the  true  glorification  of  human  nature.  Furthermore, 
while  antichristian  dogmas  seek  to  hide  the  miseries 
of  humanity,  to  cover  its  shame  by  artfully  arranging 
the  folds  of  a  deceitful  vail  over  its  hideous  wounds, 
Christianity  tears  the  vail  in  order  to  heal  the  wounds. 
It  takes  by  the  hand  that  poor  human  creature,  degra- 


400  THE    REDEEMER.  j 

ded  and  fallen,  by  stooping  to  its  level  ;  it  leads  him  \ 
by  forgiveness  to  heaven  ;  it  makes  him  sit  down  there, 
and  upon  the  very  throne  of  God  humanity  recognizes 
its  eternal  glorification.     It  is  thus  that  the  religion 
of  humility  degrades  and  debases  humanity  ! 

But,  my  brethren,  let  not  this  assimilation  between  " 
you  and  Jesus  Christ,  which  you  are  right  in  urging 

very  far  according  to  the  Scriptures,  prevent  you  from  j 

recognizing  the  sole  and  special  character  of  his  royal-  \ 

ty.     Let  us  not  forget  that  of  him  it  was  said,  "  God  i 

also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  ; 
which   is  above   every  name:    that   at  the   name  of 

Jesus  every  knee   should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  | 

and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth,  and  j 

that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  ; 

Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."      Phil.  ii.  10,  i 
11.      "We  owe   him   adoration,    and    this    should   be 

marked  in  all  our  religious  language.     Let  us  have  j 

with  him  a  heavenly  intimacy,  but  let  us  shun  that  fa-  j 

miliarity  devoid  of  dignity  which  sometimes  has  too  ! 

greatly  impaired  the  sentiment  of  respect  in  the  Ian-  ■ 

guage  employed  by  certain  Christians.     His  vast  love  | 

constantly  fills  up  the  distance  between  us  and  him  ;  ' 

it  stoops,  like  a  tender  brother,  even  to  the  dust  in  I 

which  we  lie,  to  encourage  and  raise  up  the  humblest  ; 

Christian.     Let  us  ever  show  that  we  understand  that  ] 
this  loving  Saviour  is  God,  and  let  us  ever  manifest 

a  practical  faith  in  his  kingly  greatness.      0  sacred  \ 

name  of  my  Saviour,  name  both  sweet  and  holy,  we  ^ 

love    to  bend    the    knee    before    thee  !     Our    divine  1 

King,  whilst   men  insult  thee,  whilst  they  know  thee  ; 

not  upon  this  earth  watered  with  thy  blood,  we  wish  ' 


JESUS    CHRIST  AS   KING.  401 

to  adore  thee,  and  with  our  praises  to  cover  up  the 
outrages  of  thine  enemies  !  Our  respect  equals  our 
love.  Friends  and  servants  at  once,  according  to  thine 
own  words,  we  lean  upon  thy  heart  with  St.  John,  we 
fall  at  thy  feet  with  Mary  ! 

We  have  seen  Jesus  Christ  rising  from  the  dead  and 
ascending  his  throne  ;  we  must  know  now  how  he 
reigns.  His  royalty  is  the  royalty  of  love,  and  he 
makes  of  it  a  glorious  ministry  of  compassion.  He 
exercises  it  in  heaven,  first  by  his  sovereign  prayer. 
"  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us,"  we 
read  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Jesus  Christ 
gathers  together  all  our  prayers,  and  adds  to  them  his 
all-powerful  Amen.  Begun  upon  earth,  in  the  depth  of 
our  hearts  often  broken  and  crushed,  they  are  finished 
in  his  divine  mouth.  He  bears  before  the  Father 
our  desires,  our  aspirations,  our  sorrows,  and  as  he 
is  the  eternal  Word,  that  is  to  say,  the  perfect  expres- 
sion of  the  thought  and  will  of  God,  his  prayer  is  heard 
before  it  is  put  in  form.  To  pray  thus  is  to  reign,  and 
whoever  prays  thus  participates  in  this  blessed  reign. 
Let  no  one  then  go  and  allege  the  pretext  of  his  un- 
worthiness  as  a  reason  for  refusing  to  pray.  Un- 
worthy of  the  favor  you  are,  and  will  be  always  on  the 
earth  ;  but  you  are  not  alone  in  prayer.  He  in  whose 
name  you  pray,  and  who  prays  with  you,  is  worthy  to 
be  heard,  for  he  is  the  great  High  Priest,  the  King  of 
the  new  covenant.  If  the  Son  of  God  was  not  heard, 
who  could  be  ?  But  ho  is,  and  always.  No  one  of 
our  requests  is  lost  ;  they  are  accepted  and  consecra- 
ted by  liim.  Let  them  therefore  unceasingly  ascend 
toward  him,  let  them  go  and  mingle  with  his  petitions, 

34* 


402  THE   lîEDEEMER. 

and  be  blended  with  them  as  the  tributary  streams 
are  blended  with  the  forceful  currents  of  a  mighty 
river. 

The  kingship  of  Jesus  Christ  is  manifested  not 
only  in  his  relations  with  the  Father,  but  also  in  the 
power  which  he  wields  over  humanity.  We  shall 
presently  see  to  what  extent  this  power  is  exercised  ; 
at  present  let  us  examine  the  mode  in  which  it  is 
operative.  It  is  by  the  Holy  Spirit  that  Jesus  Christ 
reigns  over  the  hearts  of  men  and  governs  them.  As 
we  have  seen,  it  entered  into  his  plans  to  give  the 
Spirit  to  the  world,  and  the  sending  into  our  souls 
of  this  mysterious  agent  of  God's  work  is  one  of 
the  marked  characteristics  of  the  kingship  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  is  the  reign  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Christ, 
through  him,  is  unceasingly  present  upon  the  earth  ; 
he  inclines  the  hearts  of  men,  he  changes  them, 
guides  them,  and  renders  them  fruitful.  Strangely 
erroneous  views  have  been  sometimes  held  concern- 
ing the  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  From  a 
false  idea  of  divine  sovereignty,  it  has  been  trans- 
formed into  a  power  resembling  the  irresistible  forces 
of  nature,  the  wind  which  bends  or  breaks  the  tree,  or 
the  lightning  which  consumes  it.  Thus  have  been 
confounded  two  domains  entirely  distinct:  that  of 
necessity  and  that  of  freedom,  the  external  world 
and  the  moral  world.  Men  imagined  that  they  were 
glorifying  grace  while  materializing  it,  for  it  is  mate- 
rializing it  to  deprive  it  of  its  spiritual  and  moral 
character.  Nowhere  does  Scripture  exliibit  to  us  the 
Holy  Spirit  as  a  power  that  can  not  be  resisted.  On 
the    contrary,   we   are   taught   that   we   can    repulse 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  KING.  403 

and  grieve  him.  He  is  granted  only  to  those  who 
seek  for  him.  The  reign  of  Jesus  Christ  has  there- 
fore nothing  in  common  with  that  species  of  divine 
absolutism  to  which  it  has  been  too  often  compared. 
This  absolutism,  very  far  from  promoting  the  glory  of 
God,  impairs  that  glory  ;  in  fact,  in  order  to  reign 
over  free  beings  infinitely  more  power  is  needed  than 
to  reign  over  beings  that  are  passive  and  inert.  To 
direct  creatures  endowed  with  intelligence  and  free 
will  is  infinitely  greater  than  to  lead  creatures  un- 
able either  to  resist  or  to  obey.  To  change  the  will 
is  a  greater  thing  than  to  abolish  it.  Absolutism  is  a 
force  of  the  material  world  ;  there  lies  its  domain  ; 
morally  it  is  powerless  ;  whenever  it  has  sought  to 
enter  the  spiritual  domain,  it  has  been  driven  thence 
in  ignominy.  Our  ideas  concerning  liberty  of  con- 
science are  based  upon  the  very  fact  of  its  incompe- 
tence with  regard  to  all  which  proceeds  from  the  soul 
and  the  will.  To  transform  grace  into  a  species  of 
divine  absolutism,  by  regarding  it  as  an  irresistible 
power,  is  to  divest  it  of  its  true  character;  we 
hold  indeed  that  it  is  depriving  God  of  his  proper 
sovereignty,  under  pretext  of  maintaining  it.  His 
sovereignty  is  above  all  else  to  be  admired  in  that  it 
harmonizes  with  liberty,  and  in  that  it  attains  its  own 
ends  while  fully  establishing  liberty.  The  Spirit  of 
God  penetrates  us,  and  transforms  us  while  triumph- 
ing over  our  resistance  ;  grace  is  a  divine  persuasion  ; 
it  is  not  by  a  stroke  of  authority,  it  is  by  a  secret  and 
gentle  influence  that  it  wins  us,  and  the  signal  mani- 
festations of  its  power  are  connected,  as  in  the  con- 
version of  Paul,  with  a  protracted  inward  struggle, 


404  THE    REDEEMER. 

the  consummation  of  which  may  be  rapidly  effected. 
Let  men  cease,  then,  to  confound  Christianity  with 
fatalism,  swayed  by  a  logical  system  justifiable  three 
centuries  ago  as  a  weapon  of  warfare  in  the  great 
conflict  with  Catholic  Pelagianism,  but  which  to-day 
would  turn  against  those  handling  it,  and  would 
smite  them  with  a  deadly  stroke  by  identifying  them 
with  cotemporary  Pantheism.  Let  not  the  reign  of 
Jesus  Christ  be  assimilated  to  that  which  is  worst 
upon  the  earth  ;  let  not  the  sovereignty  of  God  be 
identified  with  absolutism,  or  the  free  and  powerful 
Spirit  of  God  be  degraded  to  the  order  of  material 
and  mechanical  forces.* 

Having  set  forth  the  spiritual  nature  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  it  still  remains  for  us  to  inquire  in  what 
manner  he  establishes  it  upon  the  earth.  Our  text 
teaches  us  that  it  comprehends  two  domains  :  one 
more  general,  and  one  more  special.  "  He  was 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  and  believed  on  in  the 
world."  The  preaching  of  the  gospel  is  a  first  un- 
folding of  the  kingship  of  Christ  upon  the  earth  ;  it 

*  We  know  well  the  answer  that  will  be  given  ;  we  shall  be  referred  to 
the  ninth  chapter  of  Romans,  We  are  persuaded  that  the  ordinary 
exegesis  of  that  passage  is  very  superficial.  Sufficient  consideration  is 
not  paid  to  the  general  thesis  maintained  by  the  apostle;  his  aim  being  to 
uphold  against  the  Jew  the  freedom  of  the  grace  of  God,  as  not  being 
bound  to  any  natural  fact.  In  the  last  part  of  the  chapter,  he  employs 
an  overwhelming  kind  of  argumentation,  suited  to  crush  his  opponent, 
and  which  consists  definitively  in  refusing  the  discussion  ;  but  it  would 
be  an  absolute  perversion  of  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures  to  fasten 
upon  this  isolated  passage,  and  not  interpret  it  by  the  whole  Bible,  and  by 
so  many  words  of  this  same  apostle  which  are  a  natural  commentary 
upon  it. 

See  the  development  of  St.  Pciul's  doctrine  in  vol.  ii.  of  our  History 
of  the  Three  First  Centuries  of  the  Church. 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS   KING.  405 

is  a  manifestation  of  his  power  which  is  everywhere 
diffused.  The  faith  of  Christians  is  a  manifestation 
more  real  and  more  elevated,  for  Christ's  royalty 
over  the  church  is  emhiently  the  royalty  of  Christ. 
Let  us  consider  this  twofold  aspect  of  his  kingly 
dignity. 

The  apostle  Paul  regarded  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  as  constituting  a  part  of  the  mystery  of  godli- 
ness. We  do  not  attribute  to  it  sufficient  importance. 
In  itself,  even  before  it  has  produced  faith,  it  wields 
an  immense  influence.  It  puts  in  circulation  a  mul- 
titude of  true  and  fruitful  ideas,  which,  proceeding 
from  revelation,  create  a  kind  of  moral  atmosphere, 
which  men  can  not  possibly  avoid  breathing.  By  a 
singular  inconsequence,  the  gospel  is  more  quickly 
realized  in  the  social  than  in  the  individual  sphere. 
Doubtless  it  is  easier  to  draw  from  it  general  conse- 
quences than  the  individual  consequence,  in  which  is 
implied  self-renunciation.  However  this  may  be,  it 
is  certain  that  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  has  ex- 
erted a  marked  influence  upon  the  history  of  hu- 
manity. It  was  preached  to  the  pagans,  and  pagan- 
ism, quietly  undermined  by  it,  crumbled  stone  by 
stone,  until,  like  a  gigantic  ruin,  the  whole  mass  fell 
to  the  ground.  We  have  the  right  to  speak  of  a 
Christian  civilization,  in  opposition  to  a  pagan  civ- 
ilization. The  modern  world  has  been  gradually 
molded  by  the  gospel  ;  respect  for  man  as  man,  care 
for  the  poor,  freedom  of  thought  and  of  belief,  —  all 
these  divine  features  which  distinguish  it  more  or 
less,  and  without  which  it  would  fall  into  barbarism, 
are  to  be  ascribed  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 


406  THE   REDEEMER. 

And  what  a  crowd  of  thoughts  and  sentiments,  en- 
tirely unknown  to  the  pagan  world,  lie  at  the  basis  of 
the  modern  literatures.  If  we  combine  all  these 
facts,  we  are  justified  in  approving  the  beautiful 
words  of  a  great  thinker  :  "  You  could  not  abolish 
Christianity  without  thereby  plucking  up  the  root  of 
what  is  good  and  beautiful  in  that  civilization  of  which 
you  make  your  boast."*  We  recognize  tho  kingly 
power  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  royalty  of  the  truth,  in 
these  general  results  of  evangelical  preaching  ;  and 
we  firmly  believe  that  the  future  has  in  store  for  us 
more  than  one  benign  application  of  Christian  princi- 
ples in  the  social  domain. 

But  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  reveals  in  a  deei3er 
sense  the  royalty  of  Jesus  Christ.  His  word,  by 
itself  alone,  is  a  power.  It  can  not  die  without  an 
echo  and  sink  into  nothins-ness.  It  can  not  return  to 
him  without  effect.  Wherever  it  goes  forth,  there 
are  ineffaceable  traces  of  its  career,  —  its  pathway 
glowing  with  redeeming  love,  or  marked  with  the 
avenging  thunderbolt.  It  binds  or  it  unbinds.  Re- 
jected, it  shakes  off  the  dust  from  the  feet  of  its 
divine  messengers,  in  whose  persons  it  has  been  re- 
pulsed afresh,  and  this  dust  is  the  seed  of  severe 
judgments  from  Cod.  When  this  word  enters  a  new 
country,  it  is  not  certain  that  we  shall  see  it  eagerly 
welcomed,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  will  produce  the 
most  striking  effects.  It  will  trouble  their  souls  and 
arouse  their  consciences.  Men  will  perceive  that  it 
has  come,-  by  the  wrath  which  it  excites,  and  by  the 
thanksgivings  which  it  inspires.     It  will  draw  down 

*  Sclileiermaclier,  Reden  uber  die  Religion. 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  KING.  407 

upon  that  country  either  blessing  or  cursing,  accord- 
ing as  it  shall  be  received.  Like  results  occur  with 
regard  to  the  individual  soul  that  is  brought  into  con- 
tact with  it.  It  is  a  moment  of  fearful  solemnity 
when  the  gospel  makes  its  approach  to  a  man. 
Everything  in  his  future  life  hangs  upon  his  reception 
or  rejection  of  it.  The  word  of  G-od  will  return  to 
heaven,  to  announce  there  his  salvation,  or  to  bring 
in  the  charge  that  his  heart  is  hardened.  It  is  this 
word  which  henceforth  exercises  judgment  upon 
the  earth.  "He  hath  one  that  judgeth  him,"  said 
Jesus  Christ  ;  "  the  word  which  I  have  spoken."  An 
infallible  judge,  it  constrains  the  hearts  of  men  to 
unvail  themselves  before  this  tribunal,  in  order  to 
manifest  whether  they  love  darkness  or  light.  By  its 
declaration,  so  plain  and  so  hostile  to  sin,  it  tears  off 
from  them  the  mask  of  worldly  honesty  ;  they  are 
exposed  in  their  nakedness.  They  can  not  escape 
from  its  power  ;  often,  by  a  single  word,  they  are 
pierced  through  and  through.  It  is  the  two-edged 
sword  which  reaches  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  the 
joints  and  the  marrow.  Even  during  the  period  of 
Christ's  ministry  this  influence  of  his  word  made 
itself  felt  ;  but  it  was  restricted,  because  the  gospel 
was  not  yet  preached  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
It  had  been  proclaimed  only  to  the  Jews.  Thus  the 
apostle  characterizes  it  as  a  fact  of  high  importance 
that  God  manifested  in  the  flesh  should  be  preached 
to  the  Gentiles.  Henceforth  the  kingly  sway  of  the 
word  of  God,  and  consequently  of  Jesus  Christ,  will 
be  without  bounds.  It  may  extend  over  the  entire 
world  ;   Christian  missions,  which  are  ever  subduing 


408  THE   REDEEMER. 

unto  him  new  domains,  are  enlarging  his  empire  day 
by  day,  and  are  directly  contributing  to  the  glorifica- 
tion of  Christ  as  king. 

After  having  said,  "  He  was  preached  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles," the  apostle  adds,  "  he  was  believed  on  in  the 
world."  Genuine  faith  is  found  only  in  the  church. 
It  is  the  church  consequently  of  which  mention  is  here 
made.  Jesus  Christ  reigns  over  her  in  an  altogether 
special  sense.  That  general  kingship  over  the  world 
by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  does  not  suffice  for  him. 
He  has  his  people  who  acknowledge  only  his  laws,  and 
the  Christian  church  composes  that  people  ;  not  this 
or  that  one  of  its  fragments,  but  the  total  church,  in 
its  veritable,  that  is  to  say  spiritual,  catholicity.  Jesus 
Christ  is  her  sole  head  ;  he  governs  her  in  all  things  ; 
he  nourishes  her  with  his  life  ;  he  multiplies  unto  her 
his  gifts;  it  is  from  him  that  she  derives  her  sub- 
stance in  its  entirety,  as  in  each  one  of  her  members. 
Therefore  she  owes  to  him  absolute  and  undivided  sub- 
mission. Not  to  depend  upon  him  alone,  to  place 
herself  in  any  degree  under  the  tutelage  of  a  human 
power,  is  to  challenge  the  royalty  of  Jesus  Christ,  it 
is  to  take  from  him  a  portion  of  it.  From  this  point 
of  view  it  is  impossible  to  hesitate  with  regard  to  the 
constitution  to  be  given  to  the  church.  The  question 
is  of  such  simplicity  that  its  solution  forces  itself  upon 
the  good  sense  of  the  Christian.  Is  it  true,  yes  or  no, 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  king  of  the  church  ?  If  he  is 
her  king,  does  it  not  follow  that  the  church  ought  not  to 
recognize  any  other  authority  than  his  own  ?  Is  she  in 
her  normal  condition  when  subject  to  sinful  man  ?  Is 
not  her  loss  in  freedom  so  much  taken  away  from  Jesus 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  KING.  409 

Christ  ?  If  the  mind  is  not  intent  upon  vain  siibtil- 
ties,  if  it  is  satisfied  with  a  categorical  reply,  it  will 
surely  be  acknowledged  that  the  kingship  of  Christ 
implies  the  church's  complete  independence.  Let  her 
ever  remember  that  this  independence  has  no  worth 
except  as  there  results  from  it  an  obedience  to  her 
divine  King  that  is  continually  growing  in  truth  and 
inward  power.  He  desires  to  reign  over  her  only 
through  love,  for  the  head  of  the  church  is  at  the 
same  time  her  spouse.  It  is  by  fervently  loving  him, 
by  uniting  herself  to  him  with  ever-increasing  strength, 
that  she  can  most  truly  glorify  him.  Let  not  the 
Christians  of  our  generation,  by  their  spiritual  cold- 
ness, refuse  to  participate  in  this  blessed  reign  of 
love. 

St.  Paul  sums  up  in  one  word,  at  the  close,  all  the 
divine  characteristics  of  the  royalty  of  Christ  :  ''  He 
was  received  up  into  glory."  His  resurrection,  his 
ascension,  the  power  of  the  gospel  over  the  world,  and 
his  sovereign  authority  over  the  church,  constituted  in 
truth  a  rising  to  glory.  But  this  glorious  exaltation  of 
the  Redeemer,  which  is  absolute  in  one  sense,  is  pro- 
gressive in  another  ;  the  kingly  power  must  be  pro- 
gressively extended  over  the  earth,  and  the  succession 
of  human  generations  during  the  past  eighteen  centu- 
ries has  had  no  other  end  than  to  contribute  to  the 
development  of  God's  kingdom,  —  identical  with  the 
reign  of  his  Son.  Nothing  remains  to  be  added  to  the 
glory  of  Christianity  as  it  is  contained  in  the  gospel  ; 
but  in  passing  through  our  limited  understandings  and 
our  defiled  hearts,  it  has  necessarily  undergone  more 
than  one  alteration.     For  a  long  time  the  Christianity 

35 


410  THE  REDEEMER. 

of  the  church  has  not  been  the  primitive  Christianity, 
that  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  gospel.  It  did  not  enter 
into  the  plans  of  God  to  preserve  his  revelation  from 
all  harm,  for  in  that  case  it  would  have  been  necessary 
that  the  church  place  it  out  of  our  reach,  and  bury  it 
in  the  earth,  like  the  talent  of  the  wicked  servant  in 
the  parable.  On  the  contrary,  God  desired  that  we 
should  assimilate  his  truth  to  ourselves  by  a  personal 
effort,  and  that  Christ  should  become  truly  Christ  in 
us.  But  in  order  to  reach  this  final  term  of  religious 
history,  many  sorrowful  experiences,  many  gropings 
after  light,  many  falls  and  devious  ways,  were  inevit- 
able. Nevertheless,  the  divine  end  has  always  been 
pursued,  and  from  age  to  age  Christianity  has  been  ex- 
alted in  glory,  notwithstanding  the  persistent  efforts  of 
the  antichristian  spirit  which  has  left  it  no  truce  and 
no  repose. 
/  From  the  midst  of  the  bloody  persecutions  of  the 
first  centuries  it  was  gloriously  exalted,  in  spite  of  heresy 
and  oppression,  being  victorious  over  that  old  Roman 
world  which  hoped  to  crush  it  in  its  cradle.  From  the 
midst  of  the  thick  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages,  in 
spite  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  heiress  of  pagan  perse- 
cutors, it  was  gloriously  exalted  by  means  of  a  heroic 
return  to  the  apostolic  age,  thus  withdrawing  the  Book 
of  God  from  under  the  bushel  with  which  human  tradi- 
tions covered  it.  From  the  midst  of  the  fearful  infi- 
delity of  the  last  century  it  has  become  gloriously  ex- 
alted, renewing  its  life  and  its  youth.  From  the  an- 
guished bosom  of  our  nineteenth  century  it  has  been 
gloriously  exalted,  treading  under  foot  all  that  which 
is  contrary  to  it,  breaking  the  bonds  of  an  unsuffering 


JESUS   CHRIST  AS  KINQ.  411 

dogmatism,  silencing  the  voice  of  a  destructive  criti- 
cism, freeing  itself  from  the  shackles  of  state  religions, 
and  reconquering  the  spirituality  of  the  first  days  of 
the  church,  in  its  doctrine  and  in  its  life.  Once  again, 
and  for  the  last  time,  it  shall  be  exalted  in  glory,  when 
the  Son  of  God,  hearing  the  long  sighing  of  his  church, 
shall  re-appear,  at  the  appointed  time,  in  a  splendid 
manner,  to  engage  in  a  final  conflict  with  Antichrist, 
to  raise  the  dead,  to  judge  the  world,  to  crown  his 
own  people,  and  to  consummate  the  triumph  which  he 
gained  eighteen  centuries  ago.  Then  shall  come  the 
end,  the  end  of  all  which  we  know  ;  the  impenetrable 
vail  of  eternity  falls  again  ;  we  shall  hear  resounding 
only  the  song  of  the  Lamb  who  was  slain,  and  who  has 
redeemed  us,  and  we  shall  have  only  to  join  our  voices 
with  those  which  glorify  him  for  ever  and  for  ever.  -^ 
We  have  concluded  this  series  of  discourses.  In  its 
successive  phases,  we  have  presented  to  you  the  in- 
finite work  of  the  redemption  of  the  world.  We  have 
seen  it  beginning  in  heaven  and  in  Eden,  pursuing  its 
way  with  slow  steps  during  the  obscure  periods  of  the 
preparation,  receiving  its  highest  fulfillment  in  the  life 
and  death  of  Christ,  and  finally  completed  upon  the 
throne  of  glory,  on  which  he  sat  down  after  his  resur- 
rection, and  to  which  he  is  drawing  us  by  his  Spirit. 
Our  last  word,  our  conclusion  to  which  we  are  led  by 
all  which  precedes,  is  to  entreat  you  to  go  to  him,  the 
Redeemer  and  the  King  !  No  other  answers  like  him 
to  the  want  of  our  hearts.  Minds  tormented  with 
doubt,  you  who  wish  to  believe,  and  can  not  as  yet  be- 
lieve because  you  have  so  long  breathed  the  unwhole- 
some air,  saturated  with  skepticism  and  concupiscence, 


412  THE  REDEEMER. 

which  seems  to  be  the  moral  atmosphere  of  our  age  ; 
go  to  Christ  the  prophet,  and  he  will  give  you  those 
firm  convictions  for  which  you  thirst  ;  he  will  scatter 
your  painful  doubts,  and  will  bring  you  into  contact 
with  a  living  truth  which  you  shall  never  lose .  Troubled 
hearts,  who  desire  to  bring  to  pass  that  which  is  good, 
but  always  fail,  who  tremble  before  an  offended  God, 
who  in  secret  long  for  a  gratuitous  pardon,  go  to  Christ, 
at  once  the  victim  and  the  high  priest.  Suffer  your- 
selves to  be  covered  with  that  restorative  blood  ;  it 
purifies  and  it  appeases.  Accept  this  great  mystery 
of  redemption.  It  is  the  very  substance  of  Christianity. 
There  are  peace  and  holiness  only  beneath  that  cross. 
Feeble,  mourning  Christians,  who  know  not  how  to  en- 
joy the  power  and  the  glory  that  are  yours,  go  to  Christ 
the  King,  and  the  splendor  of  his  victory  shall  be  re- 
flected upon  you.  You  will  no  longer  be  sad  witnesses 
of  the  compassion  of  God  ;  you  will  speak  of  it,  as  it 
ought  to  be  spoken  of,  with  joy,  with  strength,  and  the 
assurance  of  at  length  reigning  with  him  will  give  you 
courage  now  to  participate  in  his  sufferings.  And  let 
us  all,  whoever  he  may  be,  go  to  God,  the  Redeemer  ; 
and  to  the  Father,  who  prepared  salvation  ;  to  the 
Son,  who  accomplished  it;  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 
who  realizes  it  anew  in  our  hearts.  To  God,  thrice 
holy,  and  eternally  blessed,  be  honor,  and  praise,  and 
glory,  for  ever  ! 


THE    END. 


ERRATA 


Preface,  page  viii.,  line  18  from  top,  for  "  natures  "  insert  "  readers." 

Page  22,  line  27,  dele  "  never." 

Page  73,  line  2,  for  "  grand  "  insert  "  ground." 

Page  84,  line  12,  for  "prostrated  "  read  "penetrated." 

Page  86,  line  30,  after  "from  it  "  insert  "  by  God." 

Page  93,  line  16,  for  "  this  true  "  insert  "  their  true." 

Page  111,  line  at  bottom,  for  "  world  "  read  "  word." 

Page  122,  line  25,  after  "fragments  "  insert  "  of  revelation." 

Page  123,  line  4  from  bottom,  for  "brethren"  read  "  heathen," 

Page  124,  line  7  from  bottom,  dele  "  of." 

Page  124,  line  5  from  bottom,  for  "part"  read  "poet." 

Page  126,  line  12  fi-om  top,  for  "  mourning  "  read  "  resuming." 

Page  133,  line  20,  for  "  advance  "  i-ead  "  a  dream." 

Page  139,  line  18,  for  "  flowing  "  read  "  flowering." 

Page  145,  line  25,  for  "  antels  "  read  "  altars." 

Page  165,  line  5,  for  "  doubt"  read  "  dust." 

Page  167,  line  16,  for  "  work  "  read  "  worth." 

Page  206,  line  20,  for  "  Scripture  itself"  read  "  Spirit  itself." 

Page  235,  line  2  from  bottom,  insert  after  "  Jesus  Christ  "  "  thus  established. 

Page  245,  line  8  from  top,  for  "regret  "  read  "  reject." 

Page  248,  line  23,  before  "  up  "  insert  "  because." 

Page  249,  last  line,  after  "  covers  "  insert  "  him." 

Page  296,  line  19,  after  "  day  "  insert  "  ?  " 

Page  384,  line  8  from  bottom,  for  "  him  "  insert  "  it." 


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